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STCHX1 N G
AND FRANCINE

CLA1UC
ART INSTITUTE
L1BRART

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2012 with funding from

Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute Library

http://archive.org/details/artstudiesfromnaOOhulnn

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE

®$ ajpjrfteli to 29t$tgn : -

FOR THE USE OF

ARCHITECTS, DESIGNERS, AND MANUFACTURERS.

■

COMPRISED IN FOUR PAPERS BY

&

F. E. HULME, F.L.S., F.S.A. ; S. J. MACKIE, F.G.S., F.S.A. :

J. GLAISHER, F.R.S.; ROBERT HUNT, F.R.S.

Reprinted from the Art- Journal.

WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS OS WOOD.

LONDON :
VIRTUE & CO., 26, IVY LANE, PATERNOSTER ROW.

1872.

LONDON :

PRINTED BY VIRTUE AND CO

CITY ROAD.

■ :lTOIjyi308S

PREFACE.

ATURE may be studied in many aspects ; her wealth of
service and beauty is freely open to all who seek ; and
while the man of science, by patient study and assiduous
toil, may learn something of her mystery, and gather from her not
unwilling hands rich treasure of knowledge for the benefit of
humanity (for without the midnight watch and the elaborate
calculation of the astronomer navigation would yet be in its
infancy ; without the enthusiasm of the botanist as he toils in the
tropic forest the virtues of many a healing plant would be
unknown • without the keen perception of the geologist the miner's
task would be in vain), so the man of art in no less degree may find
in her study richest elements of beauty, loveliest suggestions of
colour, forms of infinite grace. A delight in the study of Nature,
a desire to realise something of its grandeur, is a source of
unbounded pleasure to its possessor, for to him no walk can be a
weariness, no season of the year dreary, no soil so sterile as to be
barren of interest : —

" The meanest flow'ret of the vale,
The simplest note that sM-clls the gale,
The common sun, the air, the ski
To him arc opening Paradise."

m PREFACE.

The lichen on the rock, the wayside grass, the many-coloured
fungi, are no less full of beauty than the forms that more ordinarily
attract attention, and are no less worthy of study. " The works of
the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure
therein ;" and Nature has ever to the devout mind, from its own
inherent beauty and its testimony to Him its creator and sustainer,
been a study of the deepest interest. Some who glance over these
opening remarks before entering upon the search for such material
in the body of the book as may seem available for their immediate
purpose, may consider that this view of the subject is unpractical;
but we would remind such that all art, pictorial, sculptural,
decorative, or what not, is only noble and worthy of the name so
far as it affords food for thought in the spectator, and testifies to
thought in the artist, and that the nobility of the work is in direct
proportion to such evidence of inner life. Art that is aesthetic and
sensuous, though pleasing to the eye, must ever in the nature of
things hold a subordinate place to that art which is symbolic, to
those forms in which an inner meaning may be traced ; and though
one work of art may perhaps necessarily contain less of this
reflected thought than another, yet this proposition we think will
hold good, that no work of art that does not in some way testify to
this can be altogether satisfactory, for while pleasing for a time to
the eye, it yet leaves the mind unsatisfied : the reverse will equally
hold good, and we may safely repeat that in proportion to the
thought bestowed and expressed by the artist will be the
enjoyment and profit to be derived by others from it. The true
artist will not consider with how small expenditure of trouble he

PREFACE. vii

may attain his end ; he will, on the contrary, have a heart full of
sympathy with all that is beautiful. This will become a wealth of
knowledge, will prove a precious possession to himself, and the
result must be visible in his work, and stamp it with Promethean
fire. To the artist then who is worthy of the name, nothing can
be too petty for regard, nothing that the Creator has pronounced
" very good " too insignificant for notice ; for in Nature beauty
is scattered with a lavish hand, and the fungus that passes through
all the stages of its existence during a summer's night, and the
snow-flake still more transient in its duration —

" Frail, but a work divine
Made so fairily well,
So exquisitely minute,
A miracle of design " —

have a charm of their own no less than the higher forms, while to
give but one other example from the many that present themselves,
the Foraminifera — animal remains met with in chalk cliffs — though
only visible with high microscopic power, have the curves of their
shells as graceful, designs as varied, markings as intricate, as
perhaps any other natural objects whatsoever. We therefore
appreciate the quaint fancy, the studied thought of the designer
who in some old glass that we have noticed at Ockham Church, in
Surrey, while making some of his quarry designs of columbine,
rose, and other lovely forms, chose for one of them a little fungus
surrounded by cup moss, and springing from the turf ; frail
creatures of a day, meet emblems — like the withering grass, the

fading" flower — of the short estate of man, the transience of all his
glory.

In the endeavour to suggest something of these humbler types
of beauty to the artist, the designer, the architect, and the
manufacturer, the following papers have been collected from the
pages of the Art- Journal, the periodical in which they originally
appeared, and after careful revision by their several writers, have
been published in this detached form, in order that they may be
still more commonly accessible.

The first article is an endeavour on the part of the author to
indicate something of the profusion of beautiful form that may be
met with in our hedges and skirting our roadsides, to point out
the source from whence the mediaeval artists gathered their
inspiration, and to plead for its greater use by their successors,
that by a like loving appreciation we too may create like forms of
beauty.

The second essay deals with marine forms of vegetable life, and
dwells on the immense variety of form that may be met with in
the sea-weeds that surround our shores, and the applicability of
many of the species to the varied purposes of the designer. It is
curious that these wonderful forms should not have been employed
more largely in the decorative work of any people. With the
exception of the singularly waved and bossed foliage seen in the
stone carving and metal-work of the later years of the Decorated
period of Gothic, and which may possibly have been originally
suggested by the Fucus vesiculostis, one of our commonest shore
weeds, we know of no instance of their introduction into orna-

PREFACE. ix

mental art. Hence here at once a wide field is open to the
designer, and this essay cannot fail to be full Of valuable material.
As the first and second articles have striven to illustrate the
beautiful forms that inhabit the land and the sea respectively, so
the third article, leaving

"The deep's untrampled floor
With green and purple sea-weeds strewn,"

and the more familiar forms of earth, deals with those delicate
forms of the air, the flakes of falling snow, and points out the
immense variety of graceful forms afforded by their crystals.

Symmetry and geometry are both so commonly met with in
ornamental art, and are also so conspicuously present in the forms
of snow crystals, that the application of those forms to design
cannot fail to follow when once their beauties are brought under
the notice of the designer and manufacturer.

Symmetry shows itself in a general beauty of proportion, and
balance of masses in a composition ; or, in the more limited sense
in which we now use the word, in the likeness of one half or part
to another in the unit of design. We speak of a design being
bi-symmetrical or tri-symmetrical, or if it goes beyond this, as in
snow crystals and in many other cases where the ornament may
be bounded by a circle, it is termed multi-symmetrical. Bi-sym-
metrical arrangements will be found most appropriate for the
decoration of upright surfaces, as wall-papers or curtains, which
will always be seen one way, while multi-symmetrical star-like
forms are more suitable for floor-cloth or carpet patterns, because

x PREFACE.

a star-like pattern on the floor looks equally well from all parts of
the room ; while a design having its halves merely alike can only
be viewed to advantage from one point. It is curious to observe
that in Nature the rule seems to be that the lower forms shall be
multi-symmetrical, made up of several similar parts, while the
higher forms of life are bi-symmetrical : thus in the first class we
get snow crystals, sea-anemones, star-fishes ; and in the second,
the more advanced forms of animal life — insects, birds, quadrupeds,
and man himself. There are numerous exceptions, however, to
this : thus we have flowers multi-symmetrical, and their leaves only
alike in their halves, though undoubtedly the flower, in view of its
functions in vegetable physiology, and also from the ornamentist's
stand-point, cannot be considered lower in the scale of creation
than the leaf. The charm produced by the mere repetition of parts
may be well seen in the kaleidoscope, where a series of irregular
pieces of glass develop into various ornamental forms, owing to
their symmetrical arrangement and radiation from one centre — an
effect still more clearly and beautifully seen in the crystals of snow,
where the unit is itself of pleasing form.

The influence of geometry upon design has in almost all
periods of art been very marked — in some styles, as the Early
English Gothic, and the Italian of the thirteenth century, much
more so than in others ; but in no style is it altogether ignored.
Whether we study the examples of decorative art produced in our
midst, the result of modern skill ; or turn to the remains of
Egyptian and Assyrian ornament, the brain-work and handiwork
of men who toiled thousands of years ago, or whether we contrast

PREFACE. xi

the delicacy of much of our English work with the rude carving or
pottery of the South Sea Islander, we still cannot fail to notice
that amidst much that is very marked and distinctive in comparing
one period with another, or the handiwork of one race or nation
with another, this one great principle of the adaptation of
geometry to ornament is exhibited more or less prominently in all.
Where a sense of flatness is desirable, as in designs for floor-
coverings — as mosaic, tile-work, carpeting, &c. — the use of
geometrical forms appears especially appropriate, since the feeling
of flatness is easily obtainable, and yet, accompanying this
essential feature, almost any degree of complexity and richness of
effect. These remarks upon the use of geometry must, however,
be considered to apply more especially to the simpler kinds of
design, to those intended to fill but a subordinate place. As we rise
higher, geometry, though still valuable in the setting out and
defining of leading lines and masses, gives place to higher forms,
those based on animal or vegetable life. In a fourteenth-century
diaper the part we admire is not the geometric basis of the
design, but the delicate filling in of oak or maple, buttercup or
ivy, though we unconsciously admire this the more on account of
the enclosing straight lines — lines that we should at once miss if
they were removed as superfluous.

The fourth essay of our series deals with the suggestive
ornamental forms so freely met with in organic remains. As in
the previous essay we found in the clouds above forms of beauty
well adapted for our needs as ornamentists, so in this one we
delve beneath the surface of our earth, and again have the lesson

b

xii PREFACE.

impressed upon us, that in every situation forms of beauty abound,
that the world is full of suggestive material for the student of
ornamental art, and that in what at first sight appears a barren
and profitless waste, fresh proof is given of the universal reign of
law, order, and beauty throughout the whole range of creation.
These four essays, then, should prove a welcome addition to the
ornamentist's store of material, since (though no book-work can
take the place of actual observation) they may at least suggest to
him other forms, and cause him to turn his attention in fresh
directions. With this hope, then, we conclude, trusting that our
efforts thus to illustrate in some degree the wealth of Nature may
not have been altogether in vain.

F. E. H.

CONTENTS.

I. PAGE

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS TO THE
PURPOSES OF ORNAMENTAL ART. By F. Edward
Hulme, F.L.S., F.S.A . i

II.

SEA-WEEDS AS OBJECTS OF DESIGN. By S. J. MACKIE,

F.G.S., F.S.A 91

III.

THE CRYSTALS OF SNOW AS APPLIED TO THE PURPOSES

OF DESIGN. By James Glaisher, F.R.S 133

IV.

THE SYMMETRICAL AND ORNAMENTAL FORMS OF ORGANIC
REMAINS. By Robert Hunt, F.R.S

Pssocm Ti

I.

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS TO
THE PURPOSES OF ORNAMENTAL ART.

By EDWARD HULME, F.L.S., F.S.A.

B

Iasso '

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS TO
THE PURPOSES OF ORNAMENTAL ART.

[N this series of papers it will be our desire to direct the
attention of the architect, manufacturer, and designer,
to some of the beautiful forms of nature, which, though
easily accessible, seem to have scarcely received the consideration
they deserve ; to give a brief account of the habits, peculiarities,
and localities of the plants as they come before us ; to cite from
time to time examples, either English or foreign, of their use in
the ornament of the past ; and generally to add such details as
may directly or indirectly tend to create an interest in the plant
in question. We find, on looking back at the past history and
practice of ornamental art, in the midst of many marked
differences of style, one principle very generally observed — the
use in the ornament of any given country of the plants familiar
to the people. Hence, the Egyptians exclusively used in their
ornament the plants of their own land ; we see the palm
branch, the papyrus, and the beautiful lily of the Nile constantly
recurring. We find the Greeks and Romans employing the
acanthus, olive, and vine ; the Japanese, the light and graceful
bamboo ; and in our own Gothic styles and those of the Continent
— French, German, or Spanish — we meet with more or less

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

conventionalised representations in the carvings, paintings,
illuminations, fabrics for dress, hangings, &c., of the familiar
forms of our hedgerows, streams, and meadows, such as the
wild rose, oak, maple, iris, buttercup, and many others. It is
then with the desire to awaken our decorators to the fact, that
beautiful as the Greek anthemion and other allied forms are,
they by no means represent the limit available in ornamental art,
that the following papers have been prepared, since we are
persuaded that if once the inexhaustible riches of nature were
sought after by our architects, and their beauties brought before
the eyes of the people in their work, architecture would thus
be taking one long step nearer to the sympathies and appre-
ciation of many to whom it is now a matter of indifference. The
works of a few of our leading architects owe at least some of their
beauty to their recognition of this truth ; and we would desire,
while acknowledging the services rendered to architecture by
such men as Pugin, Collings, Street, and Gilbert Scott, to add our
mite to the revival going on around us.

Botany, or the study of plants (Gr. botane, a plant), is capable
of many subdivisions : thus we have one department which, from
its dealing with the vital functions of the plant, we term
physiology (Gr. fthysis, nature — logos, science) ; another which,
from its more especially dealing with the organization and
structure of the plant, is called organography, or structural
botany; while a third great division, systematic botany, derives
its name from its teaching how the multifarious forms of vegetable
life may yet be classified into genera, and these again into orders

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS. 5

and species from certain points of resemblance in the plants thus
classed together. Botany, in itself a science in the ordinary use
of the term, may, however, render valuable service to art ; and it
is this phase of the subject which we more especially propose to
develop, treating only of the more exclusively scientific points so
far as we find them necessary for our present purpose ; and in
this we think we are fully justified, for though numbers of
excellent works are accessible to the student who desires to
study botany as a science, but few fully recognise its importance
in a modified form to the art-student, and more especially to the
designer. To the ornamentist a knowledge of the laws of plant
growth is of really the same importance as the study of anatomy
to the figure-painter or sculptor, and the absence of this know-
ledge is to the initiated, in either case, as readily detected. Many
who are now content to forego this precise knowledge are no
doubt partly debarred by the technicalities which meet them
at every sentence in ordinary botanical works. Bearing in mind,
therefore, the special requirements of our readers, we shall
endeavour to avoid as far as possible the use of terms which,
though scientifically valuable, and in fact essential to correct and
true description, are not such as we may reasonably assume
our readers, without special botanical study, to be familiar with.
A knowledge of these terms is, however, very desirable, since
their conciseness renders them valuable, and more especially,
also, because many excellent works, which it will be of advantage
to the student to consult, largely employ them. We trust that in
the few cases where such terms are in the present work intro-

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

duced, a clear explanation of their force and utility will be found
to accompany them ; we shall also, as a further assistance, add
the source from whence the term is derived, wherever the
introduction will tend to throw additional light on the meaning
of the word.

As we cannot hope, in the limited space at our command, to
supply every requirement, give every detail, or bring forward more
than a few of the more common plants, the present work must be
considered rather as a suggestive list of the more striking plants
which, from their ornamental characteristics, will, we trust, be
found of service to designers, than an exhaustive catalogue. It is
very far indeed from being a complete list.

To render the work as practically useful as possible, we add to
each plant mentioned the names of some standard books in which
reliable drawings of the plant in question may be found ; for
though nature should always, if possible, be consulted, it may
not at all times be within the power of the student to do so, owing
to press of work, the season of the year, and many other dis-
turbing causes.

The following books are thus referred to, the illustrations
in them being of a trustworthy character. After the name of each
book is the abbreviation used in the present work when it is
necessary to quote it : —

The Flora Londinensis of Curtis. First Edition . . . . F. L.

Medical Botany. Woodville. First Edition .... M. B.

Medical Botany. Stephenson and Churchill. First Edition . S. C.

Illustrations of Natural Orders of Plants. E. Twining . . . T. N. O.

English Botany. Sowerby. Third Edition . . . . E. B.

"THE adaptability of our NATIVE PLANTS. 7

Vegetable World. Figuier ........ V. W.

School Botany. Lindley . . . . . . . . S. B.

Woodlands, Heaths, and Hedges. Coleman .... W. H. H.

Grammar of Ornament. Owen Jones . . . . . G. O.

The first five on this list have coloured plates. To these we may
be allowed to add Plant Form (P. F.), a work prepared by the
author for the especial use of designers.

The plants described in the following pages are, to facilitate
reference, arranged in regular alphabetical sequence, according to
their English names, since most of my readers will more readily
recognise a plant by its familiar title than by its botanical
appellation. Thousands are familiar with the little daisy who
would never recognise it in any description headed Bellis perennts.
At the same time, we in every case give the scientific nomencla-
ture as well, since in most works you may desire to consult, that
will be of greater prominence than the one used colloquially. A
difficulty here arises from the fact that several of our English
flowers have numerous synonyms given to them ; we have,
however, chosen the name which we believe to be most commonly
used, referring also to the others in the course of our remarks on
the plant.

In the introduction of vegetable growth into any ornamental
composition, we must be careful to remember that what is
wanted is not so much a direct imitation of nature, which after
all can only be faulty at the best, as a due adaptation of the
natural form to the purpose of our design — a recognition of the
impossibility of a close copy of nature, together with a feeling
of its undesirableness even if it could be accomplished. Our

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

representations must therefore be more or less conventional :
in a flower-painting we naturally expect to see a direct tran-
script of nature, while in decorative art a direct transcript
offends us.

"In the multitude of counsellors there is safety;" we will,
therefore, here quote some few passages from the works of those
whom we think we can all agree are entitled to speak with
authority and to be heard with respect. Ruskin, in speaking on
this subject, says, — " All noble ornamentation is the expression of
man's delight in God's work;" and again, "Ornamentation should
be natural, that is to say, should in some degree express or adopt
the beauty of natural objects ; it does not hence follow that it
should be an exact imitation of, or endeavour to supersede, God's
work; it may consist only in a partial adoption of, and compliance
with, the usual forms of natural things, without at all going to
the point of imitation, and it is possible that the point of imitation
may be closely reached by ornaments which nevertheless are
entirely unfit for their place, and are the signs only of a degraded
ambition and an ignorant dexterity. Bad decorators err as easily
on the side of imitating nature as of forgetting her, and the
question of the exact degree in which imitation should be
attempted under given circumstances is one of the most subtle
and difficult in the whole range of criticism." Wornum thus
defi nes the difference between naturalism and conventionalism :
" A natural treatment implies natural imitation and arrangement,
but an ornamental treatment does not necessarily exclude imita-
tion in the parts, as, for instance, a scroll may be composed

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS. 9

of strictly natural parts, but as no plant would grow in an exactly
spiral direction, the scroll form constitutes the ornamental or
conventional arrangement ; we may, however, have conven-
tionalism of details as well as conventionalism of arrangement."
Hudson says, — " There is a great difference between the terms
applied and adapted ; they, in fact, express the wrong and the
right use of vegetable forms. All natural forms require certain
modifications to adapt them for other than their own natural
situations, and it is the neglect of this, and the simple application
of these forms without adapting them, which constitute a false
principle." Dresser thus illustrates the difference : " Mere
imitation is not ornamentation, and is no more art in the
higher sense of the term than writing is itself literature.
Vegetable nature treated conventionally will not be found to be
far removed from truth, but will be merely a natural form, or
a series of natural forms, neither marred by blights nor disturbed
by winds, adapted to the fulfilment of a special purpose, and
suited to a particular position — for the most perfect examples of
what is usually termed conventionalised nature are those which
express the intention of nature, if we may thus speak, or are
manifestations of natural objects as undisturbed by surrounding
influences and unmarred by casualties." In the same way we
might bring forward passages from the works of Owen Jones, Sir
Gardiner Wilkinson, and many others, in illustration of our
remarks ; enough, however, has, we trust, been brought forward
to confirm the position taken up.

We will now, without further prelude, proceed to the brief

io ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

consideration of the few representative plants we have selected
for our remarks.

The Agrimony. This plant, the Agrimonia Eupatoria of
botanists, and the Agremoine of old writers, is ordinarily met
with in hedgerows and waste places by the roadside. The
flowers are bright yellow, and are arranged in what is termed
botanically a spike (Lat. sftica, an ear of corn ; when the flowers
grow in succession direct from a central stem). The leaves are
very ornamental in character, the central line giving off large
side leaflets, and the intermediate spaces being filled by smaller
ones. The edges of all the leaves are deeply serrate (Lat. serra,
a saw; notched like the teeth of a saw). Very suitable and
suggestive for lace or wall-papers, where a somewhat delicate
form with a decidedly upright mode of growth is desirable.
Drawings of the plant may be seen in S. B. 126; E. B. 417;
F. L. vol. v. 32 ; and M. B. 258. The natural plant will be
found in flower during July and August.

The White or Wood Anemone [Anemone nemorosa), or, as it is
often termed in old botanical works, the Wind-flower. This older
name refers to the same fact alluded to in its generic name,
Anemone, the fragility and delicacy of the flowers, and their ex-
posure to the bleak and boisterous winds that sweep through the
almost leafless woods in early spring, or, as others believe, from
an old fancy that the flowers will not open until buffeted by the
gales of March, anemone being derived from the Greek word,
anemos, the wind. The second name, nemorosa, signifies woody,
and bears obvious reference to the localities most favourable to

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS.

1 1

the growth of the anemone. The plant may be found in flower
during the months of March, April, and May, the blossoms being
pure white, with a bright yellow centre, and the outer surface of
the sepals of a delicate purple tinge". It abounds in moist woods
throughout the country, generally in such profusion as to cover

Anemone.

large tracts of ground with a snowy whiteness ; and the plant
being perennial, we shall, when it is once established in any spot,
find it regularly recurring as each spring-time comes round. The
manner of growth of the anemone is very distinct and character-
istic, and not being subject to any variation, cannot well be

1 2 ART-STUDIES FROM NA TURE.

modified in the employment of the plant in ornamental art with-
out destroying its individuality, as from the single stem thrown
up from the ground three equal-sized leaves, identical in form,
are produced from a point about six inches from the soil, and the
stalk is then continued for about the same distance again before
bearing at its summit its single flower ; each and every plant,
therefore, consists of a central stem, a terminal flower, and about
midway up the stem a group of three leaves. This rigid law,
though extremely beautiful in itself, and admirably adapted for
treatment for some ornamental purposes, may, perhaps, somewhat
restrict its use in decorative art. We are not aware of any ex-
amples of its employment in past art. In our illustration, the
plan of the plant, the view with which we are most familiar, as we
see it in its natural position, is shown, having the single central
flower, and below it the three leaves radiating from the stem.
It will be found that this strong individuality of growth more
especially adapts itself to the trefoil, or any Other form based on
the figure three.* The garden-anemone [A. coronarid) is an allied
species of the same family, modified by cultivation : in its wild
state it is a native of the South of Europe.

The Arrow-head (Sagittaria sagittifolia\ one of our most
beautiful aquatic plants, must be so well known to our readers
that any lengthened description of it will be superfluous. Its
generic, specific, and English names all alike point out its leading
characteristic, the beautiful arrow-headed shape of its leaves ; —

* For drawings of the anemone see S. B. 87, E. B. 11, and P. F. 66.

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS. 13

sagitta, Lat, an arrow. The calyx and corolla are each composed
of three parts, the petals being a brilliant white, with a pale pink
irregular blotch at their bases. The forms of the flowers, fruit,
and leaves are all equally adapted for decorative
purposes, though it does not appear to have re-
ceived in the past the attention which its merits
might very fairly claim, the only instances of its
application in ornamental art with which we are
acquainted being in a running band of ornament Arrow-head.

round a tomb, fourteenth century, in the cloisters, Burgos. The
flowers are incorrectly represented in that example as having four
petals, but the general effect is, nevertheless, very good. See
E. B. 1436 and P. F. 72 for drawings of the natural plant.

The Arum [Arum maculatum) is a plant of very common
occurrence throughout England, though rarely to be found either
in Scotland or Ireland. It may be met with in shady groves and
thickets, and nestled among the long grass and other herbage
upon our hedge-banks. The plant will be found in flower during
April and May ; but from the mode of growth, and also from the
pale green colour of the spathe surrounding the central organs,
it is by no means conspicuous among the surrounding foliage.
The upper portion of the central body or spadix — that part of it
which is seen in our illustration — is generally of a dark crimson
colour. The plant is far more likely to attract attention in the
autumn and winter than during its season of flowering, as
towards the close of the year the leaves of the arum die away,
and the hedgerows also being stripped of the greater part of their

i4

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

foliage, we notice the brilliant scarlet berries of the present plant
rising in a dense mass to the height of some three or four inches
from the ground. If the fresh root of the plant be tasted, it
excites a burning and pricking sensation in the mouth that will
remain for several hours ; and if sliced and applied to the skin,

Arum,

it will frequently produce blisters. This virulence, however, like
the acrimonious principle met with in the leaves, yields to the
influence of heat, and in former times an excellent starch was
prepared from the root. In the writings of the old medical authors
and poets we meet with the wild arum under a great variety of

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS. 15

names, many of them, through the lapse of time and from disuse,
being now meaningless to us; such, for example, as abron, janus,
barba-aron, calfs-foot, ramp, and wake-robin. A very common
name for the plant at the present day with country children is
lords-and-ladies ; and an equally familiar name, both with children
and also in descriptions of the plant in botanical works, is the
cuckoo-pint : this may possibly allude to the slight resemblance
of the enclosing spathe to a measure for liquids. Another old
name for the plant is the starchwort, in obvious allusion to its
domestic use. Like most other plants, it was held by the medical
practitioners of the Middle Ages to possess very considerable
and valuable remedial qualities. A small portion of the leaf,
either dried or in the green state, was esteemed a sure remedy
for the plague or any poison. "The water wherein the root hath
been boiled, dropped into the eyes, cleanseth them from any film
or mists which begin to hinder the sight," or under circumstances
to which the writer delicately hints, " when, by some chance,
they become black and blue." Though the bold, simple forms
of the flower and bud and the rich arrow-headed shape of the
leaves appear, in an especial manner, to lit it for valuable service
in ornamental art, it has been but very rarely thus employed.
Illustrations of the natural growth of the plant will be found
in F. L. vol. ii. 63 ; S. C. 22 ; and P. F. 41.

The Avens [Gcum urdanum), belonging to the same natural
order, Rosacea1, as the tormentil and wood-strawberry, possesses
also the same peculiarity of flower, the petals being five in
number, while the calyx is composed of five large segments,

i6

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

Avens.

alternating with five others of a much smaller size. The root is
very astringent in its nature, and of sufficient value to be in-
cluded in the Materia Medica. The
avens may be generally found growing
in hedges and woods, flowering during
June and July, and attaining to a height
of from one to two feet. The leaves
are very ornamental in character, and
will, equally with the flowers, prove of
valuable service to the designer. For
illustrations of the growth of the plant
refer to F. L. vol. ii. 36, and P. F. 81.

Bedstraw [Galium verum). This is also known as cheese
rennet, gallion, and maid-hair. The word bedstraw is in allusion
to the former use of the dried plant as a cheap material in forming
beds. The name cheese-rennet is derived from a bygone em-
ployment of the plant for curdling milk: we see this same use
of the plant referred to in the generic term Galium, that name
being derived from the Greek word for milk. Gallion is evidently a
herbalist's corruption of Galium, while the fourth name, maid-hair,
has obvious reference to the lightness and delicacy of the plant.
The minute yellow flowers grow in dense heads of blossom, while
the leaves are in whorls, that is to say, several starting from the
same level, and thus growing in a succession of rings round the
stems. The number of the leaves in a ring is very variable ; from
eight to twelve is, however, the usual number. Dry banks are the
ordinary habitat of the plant. It will be found in flower through-

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS. 17

out June, July, and August. Its lightness and graceful mode of
growth admirably fit it for the purposes of the designer. For illus-
trations of the bedstraw refer to E. B. 648, or F. L. vol. vi. 13. The
old herb-doctors, ever ready to find or make a medicinal use, speak
in high commendation of the present plant for its reputed efficacy in
relieving pains from burns, inward wounds, &c, while "a decoction

Bindweed.

of the herb is good to bathe the feet of travellers and lacquies, whose
long running causeth weariness and stiffness in their sinews."

The Bindweed, botanically known as the Calystegia septum, is
one of our most familiar plants; large surfaces of our hedgerows
(Lat. scpc, a hedge) being covered by its graceful leaves and
tubular flowers. It is a curious fact that, though abundant
throughout England and Ireland, it is very local in Scotland.

D

1 8 ART-STUDIES FROM NA TURE.

The so-called convolvulus major of the garden is the Ipomcea
purpurea, a species very widely spread over the tropical and
temperate regions of the earth. Many of the family possess
active medicinal qualities, and preparations from them are found
in the Pharmacopoeia. The English species also were at one
time thus employed ; but Gerarde, the great medical botanist
of Queen Elizabeth's reign, will not admit that they possess any
virtue at all, but rather the contrary. " They are not fit for medicine,
and unprofitable weeds, and hurtful to each thing that groweth
next them, and were only administered by runnegate physick-
mongers, quacksalvers, old women leeches, abusers of physick,
and deceivers of people. " For study of the natural appearance
of the flower we would refer you, if you are unable to meet with
the plant itself, to E. B. 924 ; S. C. 2 ; T. N. O. 97 ; G. O. 99 ; and
P. F. 76.

Bitter-sweet. The Bitter-sweet [Solarium Dulcamara) is so
called from the bitter flavour of the stems when first tasted,
a flavour which is speedily followed by a peculiar sweetness
somewhat resembling liquorice root. In not only the familiar
English name, but the specific botanical appellation as well, we
see this peculiarity of the plant referred to, Dulcamara having the
same meaning as bitter-sweet. The continental names have also
this curious reference in them, the plant in France being called
Douce-amere ; in Italy, Dulcamara ; in Spain, Amaradulcis ; and
in Germany, Bittersusstangel. The plant is frequently called
woody nightshade, while the old herbalists, in addition to the
names already given, call it felon wort. Solarium is derived from

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLAXTS. 19

solamen, in reference to the soothing effect of some species of the
Solanaceae. The bitter-sweet has small flowers of a deep purple
colour, the petals being very much reflexed. The berries are of a
deep red when ripe, but change considerably in their colour before
reaching maturity; thus on the same bunch we may frequently
see green, yellow, orange, and crimson fruit. Thirty of these
berries administered to a large dog killed it in less than three
hours. Refer to E. B. 930; F. L. vol. i. 14; M. B. 33 ; S. C. 17 ;
T. N. O. 100; and P. F. 19, for illustrations of the natural
growth of the plant. This shrub is frequently confounded with
the deadly nightshade, from the slight similarity of name ; but
there is no other point of resemblance. The two plants are totally
distinct. The woody nightshade, though common in most parts
of England, is comparatively scarce in Scotland and Ireland. It
is a hedgerow plant, flowering during June, July, and August. A
variety with white flowers is sometimes met with.

The Black-thorn or Sloe [Prunus spinosd) is curious and
suggestive from an ornamentist's point of view, from the flowers,
unlike most other plants, appearing in profusion before the leaves
are developed. We see a plant strongly resembling the black-
thorn very largely used in their ornament by the Japanese, a plant
with numerous spreading branches, leafless, but thickly clustered
with flowers. The black-thorn may commonly be met with in
coppices and hedgerows, the blossoms appearing in March or
April, and the rich purple fruit in August. The name sloe is
derived from the Anglo-Saxon s/a, and refers to the extreme
acidity of the tempting-looking fruit. The natural growth may

20

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

be seen on reference to E. B. 408, or M. B. 84. The black-thorn
possesses a certain value ornamentally, as being, like the primrose
and snowdrop, a characteristic flower of the spring.

" Flowers, as the changing seasons roll along,

Still wait on earth, and added beauties lend ;

Around the smiling Spring a lovely throng

With eager rivalry her steps attend ;

Others with Summer's brighter glories blend ;

Some grace mild Autumn's more majestic mien ;

While some few lingering blooms the brow befriend

Of hoary Winter, and with grace serene
Enwreat-h the king of storms with mercy's tender sheen."

Barton.

The Borage [B or ago officinalis), though widely distributed, is
by no means a common plant ; and though mentioned by several
old writers, must be considered as but a doubtful native. The

generic name has been corrupted from
two Latin words, cor, the heart, and ago, I
act, from a belief, as old as the time of
Pliny, in its exhilarating effects ; hence
the old saying, Ego borago gaudta semper
ago, " I borage give always courage/'
The borage, like the comfrey and forget-
me-not, belongs to the order Boragi-
nacece, and, in common with most of the
species of that order, is marked by the gyrate or scorpoid
arrangement of its flowers, the stem being coiled round like the
mainspring of a watch. It may be met with occasionally in
the ornament of the past — its large and striking-looking stellate

Borage.

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS. 2;

(Latin, stella, a star) flowers, and the general growth of the plant,
being admirably adapted to the purposes of design. As an
example we may instance the MS. Hours of Henry VII. in the
British Museum, where the borage is introduced upon a golden
ground on one of the pages. Drawings of this plant will be
found in E. B. 1 1 14 ; M. B. 2 1 7 ; T. N. O. 98 ; and P. F. 36.

In studying the application of natural vegetable forms to the
various requirements of ornamental art — such, for instance, as the
employment of bold, vigorous plants to stone or wood carving,
and the more graceful and delicate growths to such fabrics as
muslin and lace — we speedily find that in some cases we are
unable to treat the whole of the plant we have selected for our
purpose, owing to the limitations placed upon us by the require-
ments of the work, the exigencies of manufacture, or the nature
of the materials in which our design is to be embodied. In some
cases the flowers are too small in detail, or in the general mass,
to accord well from the ornamentist's point of view with the
foliage of the plant ; the white bryony [Bryonia dioica\ for instance,
though excellently adapted for muslins, could not in its flowering
stage be satisfactorily treated for stonework on this account,
though the foliage by itself is admirably suited for such purpose.
In other instances we find the case reversed, the flower being
large and beautiful in form, and the leaves unsuited, either from
their insignificant size or want of beauty, to the purpose of the
ornamentist ; thus, while the leaves of the stonecrop !KScdia/i acre]
are, from their minuteness, scarcely available for the purposes of
design, the stellate flower is exceedingly beautiful in form, and

22 ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

admirably adapted for diapering and many other uses, when
isolated from the rest of the plant. Where both leaf and flower
are from their beauty and relative scale equally adapted for art-
treatment, we are still, when circumstances require it, quite
justified in employing either the one or the other by itself: where
a monochrome arrangement is necessary, the leaves alone may,
for example, be used ; where a central radiate form, the flower
may be introduced. The rosette or patera, so freely introduced
both in ancient and mediaeval art, is an example of this use of
isolated floral forms.

The Bramble or Blackberry [Rubus fruticosus), a more fami-
liar plant than the last, has, so far as we are aware, been but
little used in ornamental art, though the Rubus idceus, or wild
raspberry, may occasionally be seen in MSS. of the sixteenth
century. The generic name is highly expressive of the prickly
nature of the plant, being derived from an old Celtic verb, reub,
to lacerate or tear away ; while its English name, bramble, attests
its indigenous nature, descending as it does from the Anglo-
Saxon name for it, bremel. The stems, ordinarily of a pale purple
colour and with a grey bloom upon them, are pentangular in sec-
tion, the numerous prickles almost entirely confined to the ridges
formed by the angles, and not occurring in the intermediate furrows;
the leaves generally with five deeply serrated leaflets, a rich green
on the upper surface, and covered with close white down on the
lower ; the petals of the blossom varying from pure white or
delicate pink to a deep red ; and the fruit of a rich crimson, so
intense in colour as to appear almost black. The mode of growth

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS. 23

admirably fits it for the service of the designer, the leaves being
very ornamental in form, and the long trailing stems admitting
of great freedom of curve, while for its use in decorative art a
further great recommendation exists in the power of representing
the plant under several phases of growth without violating natural

Blackberry.

truth, as at one and the same time we find the opening bud, the
fully-expanded flower, and the fruit of all sizes and stages of
development, varying in colour from green, light red, and crim-
son, to deep purplish black in its progress to maturity. We
thus gain great variety of form, and also, when admissible, of
colour. The bramble appears to be of especial value in ornament

24 ART- STUDIES FROM NATURE.

where large surfaces require to be covered by forms at once
suitable in scale, interesting in their details, and varied in their
character; hence it would seem admirably adapted to muslins
and lace, though, so far as we have had opportunity of observa-
tion, it has not been thus employed. Reliable drawings of the
blackberry will be found in W. H. H., Plate E, Fig. i. ; in T. N. O.
51 ; G. O. 96; and P. F. 57.

Some plants, beautiful in themselves, possess an increased
importance in the eyes of the followers of ornamental art, from
their being used heraldically ; such, for example, are the rose,
the shamrock, the broom, and the thistle. Broom [Sarothamnus
scoparius] is thus used as the badge of the Scottish clan Forbes,
and, as all readers of history will remember, was also chosen as
the device of the Plantagenets. A very good example of its use in
past art — though scarcely, from its being found in a Tudor monu-
ment, having any heraldic meaning — will be seen in a glass
quarry in Henry VII. 's Chapel. Sarothamnus is derived from two
Greek verbs, signifying a shrub, and to sweep. The English name
has the same force of meaning. In an old work we have con-
sulted, the author deems it useless to go into a long account of
the plant, so well known was it in his time from this domestic
use : — "To spend time in writing a description hereof is altogether
needless, it being so generally used by all the good housewives
almost throughout this land to sweep their houses with, and,
therefore, very well known to all sorts of people. " The broom
may ordinarily be found on sandy commons, railway banks, and
dry hillsides. The large yellow pea-shaped flowers appear in

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS. 25

great profusion throughout May and June, and are succeeded in
due course by the black seed-pods. The plant grows from three
to six feet high, and when covered with its brilliant blossoms
is a very striking object. Leaves very inconspicuous. Draw-
ings of this very beautiful plant may be seen on referring to
S. B. 121; E. B. 329; M. B. 89; F. L. vol. v. 31; S. C. 67;
T. N. O. 49.

Bulbous Crowfoot. We have selected the present plant
[Ranunculus bulbosus) as a good representative of the numerous
species of plants familiarly termed buttercups, partly because it is
the most striking in effect, partly because it is the one that will
most readily be met with under ordinary circumstances ; for while
its fine flowers and beautifully-cut leaves render it singularly
well suited to the purposes of ornament, the abundance of it
in every meadow throughout the country places it within the
reach of all who would desire to adapt it to any artistic purpose.
From the commonness of the plant, and its general distribution
throughout England, it has received many other names : gold-
knob, goldcup, baffiner, troil-flower, polt, kingcup, buttercup,
butter-flower, cuckoo-bud, are all synonyms. The term Ranunculus
is derived from rana, a frog, many of the species being found in
wet, swampy places ; while the specific name, bulbosus, alludes to
the bulb-like swelling of the lower part of the stem in this
particular species. The name crowfoot has been given to the
plant from the radiating character of the segments of the leaf,
spreading as they do like the divisions of a bird's foot; while the
use of the word buttercup points to the old belief that the rich

E

26 AR T- STUDIES FROM NA TURK.

yellowness of spring butter is owing to the eating of this plant
by the cows ; the effect must rather, however, be ascribed to the
tender grass, as any one who will take the trouble to notice the
fact will find that cows in a meadow will, as far as possible, avoid
the buttercups. The leaves of the bulbous crowfoot, like, with one
exception, those of the rest of the family, are very acrid, and will,
if applied to the skin, speedily blister it. The plant will be found
in flower throughout the spring and summer : a variety is some-
times met with having cream-coloured flowers. The crowfoot is
one of the favourite plants in the ornament of the Decorated
period of Gothic. Representations of the natural plant may be
seen on consulting E. B. 35, or F. L. vol. i. 38 ; refer also to
" Water Crowfoot" in the present work, page 84.

Celandine [Chelidonium majus). The Celandine, though, so far
as we are aware, not to be met with in ornamental art, is a plant
in every way fitted for the purposes of the designer, whether we
consider the form of the flower, of the pods which succeed the
blossoms, or the rich outline of the leaf. The inflorescence is
umbellate (Lat. umbella, an umbrella), that is to say, all the flower-
stalks start from the same point in the stem, as in the case of
the hemlock, the cowslip, flowering rush, and many other
plants. CJielidonium is derived from the Greek word chelidon, a
swallow, from an old belief that the plant came into flower on
the arrival of those birds, and withered when they took their
departure ; hence in old writings we frequently find the Celandine
termed swallow-wort. The plant will commonly be found in
waste places, and more especially near human habitations. It

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS. 27

attains to a height of about two feet, and flowers throughout May,
June, July, and August. Consult S. B. 95 ; E. B. 67 ; M. B. 263 ;
S. C. 86, for drawings of the natural growth of the celandine.

The CiNQUEFOiL [Potentilla reptans). This graceful little plant
may generally be met with in abundance, a very favourite habitat
being in the low grass and coarse herbage we so frequently find
skirting the pathways in country districts. When it has once
taken root upon any favourable spot, it speedily throws out long
running stems, which, in turn, develop roots from the points
whence the leaves spring ; in a very short space of time a large
extent of ground is covered with a dense mass of the plant, and,
from its habit of rooting at each joint, it is with great difficulty
eradicated, since if one root alone be overlooked, the labour spent
will speedily prove to have been but of little more than temporary
use. Regarding the cinquefoil, however, rather from the stand-
point of the ornamentist than of the agriculturist, we are struck by
the beauty of its growth, the forms of the individual parts, and the
general fitness of the plant for employment in Decorative art.
The familiar name cinquefoil clearly alludes to the division of the
leaves into five conspicuous leaflets, though when the plant is
growing under exceptionably favourable circumstances these are
very frequently seven in number. The generic name is derived
from the Latin potc//s, powerful, and refers to the strong medicinal
qualities possessed by some of the species of Potentilla. The root
of the tormentil [P. torment 'ilia ',an allied species, is very powerfully
astringent ; it has occasionally been substituted for oak-bark in
tanning, and with equal success, the leather being found to be in

28

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

no way inferior in quality. The properties possessed by the roots
of the cinquefoil are very similar, but, from being less powerful in
their operation, are now rarely used, their value being naturally

Cinqjiefoil.

greater at a time when stronger foreign astringents were not so
readily procurable. Tormentil root is still, however, retained in
the Pharmacopoeia. The distinctive specific name of the present

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS. 29

plant, reptanSy has evident allusion to the marked feature in its
growth already referred to, being derived from the Latin reptare,
to creep. We are not aware of any examples of the use of the
cinquefoil in the art of any past period, though from the size and
beauty of form of the leaves and blossoms, and from the grace and
freedom of the curves of which the main stem is capable, it appears
to be well adapted to ornamental art. Refer to E. B. 432 ; F. L.
vol. i. 37 ; M. B. 59 ; and P. F. 46, for the natural growth.

Cockle. This, though now so frequently met with in the
midst of the corn, being in fact so common as to be classed
amongst the farmer's pests, is not an indigenous plant ; it has,
however, been established so long that it may very fairly be
comprehended in our list. The botanical name of the plant is
Lychnis githago. The whole plant is >closely covered with soft
hairs, giving it a woolly appearance. The large purple flowers
are very conspicuous, and have a curious effect, from the segments
of the calyx being so much longer than the petals of the corolla.
[Calyx, Gr., a cup, the outer and generally green portions of a
flower, the protecting member for the delicate organs within the
flower. "When the calyx is cut up into several divisions each
segment is termed a sepal. Corolla, the floral ring next within the
calyx, ordinarily of a brilliant colour, the part which, for instance,
in a rose is pink : this, though sometimes in one piece, as in a
blue-bell, is ordinarily, as in the buttercup, composed of several
similar members ; these are called petals.) The cockle will be
found in flower during the months of June, July, and August.
Though admirably adapted for service in ornamental art, the only

30 A RT-STUDIES FROM NA TURK.

example we can quote occurs in a sixteenth-century MS., a missal,
in the British Museum: the treatment is very naturalistic. Draw-
ings of the plant will be found in F. L. vol. iii. 27 ; E. B. 215.

Columbine [Aquilegia vulgaris), one of our most beautiful
wild flowers, derives, like the broom, an additional importance to
the ornamentist from its heraldic associations, the columbine
being adopted as a badge by the House of Lancaster, and also by
the Derby family at a time when every important house adopted
some such symbol. The petals bear a strong resemblance to
birds ; hence Aquilegia is derived from the Latin aqtcila, an eagle,
while the English name is derived from Lat. cohcmba, a dove.
An old English name for the plant is culverwort, culfre being the
Anglo-Saxon word for pigeon. It will be found in hedges and
thickets, thriving more especially where the soil is calcareous.
Both the flower and leaf are very rich in character, and well suited
for the requirements of ornamental art. Examples may be seen
in the church of Shearbourne, Dorset, and in the spandrels of the
canopy of a brass in Exeter Cathedral, in memory of Sir Peter
Courteney, one of the adherents of the Lancastrian king, Henry
IV. The columbine is a favourite flower in cottage-gardens, and
may be much more generally thus met with than as a wild plant.
It is in flower from May to July. A very beautiful gradation of
form is seen in the leaves, the lower ones being of a very complex
form, while the upper ones are very simple in outline. Refer to
E. B. 46, V. W. 367, for drawings.

The Comfrey {Symphytum officinale). This plant may be very
commonly found by the sides of streams, ditches, and other moist

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS. 3.

situations. The corolla of the flower is generally of a yellowish
white, but a variety having purple flowers is not uncommon in many
localities ; we have seen it, for instance, growing in profusion on

Comfrey

the banks of the East Yar, between Brading and Sandown, in the
Isle of Wight. The generic name, Symphytum, is derived from a
Greek verb signifying to unite, from an old belief in the efficacy

3 2 ART-STUDIES FROM NA TURE.

of the Comfrey in the healing of wounds. A very marked peculiarity
in the growth of the plant is the circinate, or, as it is frequently
termed, scorpoid arrangement of the flowers, from a supposed
resemblance between the spiral form of the inflorescence and the
tail of the scorpion ; hence, in the same way, scorpion-grass is one
of the old English names of the familiar forget-me-not, a plant
belonging to the same natural order, the Boraginacece, and having
the same peculiarity of growth. We need scarcely say that in
the Middle Ages the favourite dogma that each plant had its
undoubted value as a remedial agent, and generally by its form or
colour indicated its medicinal use, was firmly held; thus the colour
and shape of the flower of the foxglove, formerly called the throat-
wort, were considered as indications of its service in complaints
affecting the throat, as its older name implies ; and the deep red
colour often assumed, as the summer advances, by the leaves of
the herb-robert and others of the cranesbill family, was deemed
conclusive proof of the value of the plants in stanching the flow
of blood from a wound ; hence, in the case of the forget-me-not,
we find an old writer on medicine referring to the healing virtues
of the plant as shown by its mode of growth : " The whole branche
of floures do turne themselves round like the taile of the scorpion.
The leaves of scorpion-grass applied to the place are a present
remedy against the stinging of scorpions, and likewise boyled in
wine and drunke, prevaile against the said bitings, as also of
adders, snakes, and such venomous beasts." Drawings of the
comfrey may be seen on referring to F. L. vol. iv. 1 8 ;
V. W. 432.

The Field Convolvulus [Convolvulus arvensis). This pretty
little plant is very commonly found on grassy banks, open downs,
or in our corn-fields, running up the stems of the standing corn,
and flowering during June, July, and August. It is one of the
enemies of the farmer, from its spreading, to the detriment of the
crops, over so large an area of ground ; and owing to the great
depth to which the roots descend, it is exceedingly difficult to get
rid of it when it has once taken possession. Its generic name,
derived from the Latin convolvo, I entwine, is very descriptive
of the nature of the plant, and its English name, bindweed,
evidently embodies the same idea. Another of its old English
names, the withwinde, very beautifully expresses its lightness
and delicacy, unable to resist the force of the wind, but conquering
by yielding to its power. Where the plant occurs, it will
generally be very common, many square feet of ground being
often covered by its long trailing stems. When any suitable
object, such as a grass stem, is met with, the convolvulus, too
weak to rise by itself, ceases to trail along the ground, and
twines round the support thus afforded, always ascending in a
spiral direction to the left, as do also the C. major of the flower-
garden, the scarlet-runner bean, and many others ; while others,
as the hop, invariably ascend in a spiral direction from left to
right. It may at first sight seem difficult to establish this, but if
the reader will imagine the plant in question turning round his
own body, he will at once be able to determine whether the plant
in ascending would cross in front of him from right to left, or from
left to right. In introducing this plant in ornament, it will be

34

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE,

necessary to remember, that though frequently represented as
possessing tendrils, it does not in nature acquire the needed
support by such means, the stalk itself being the part of the

Convolvulus.

plant that entwines round other plants. The means thus
employed by climbing plants are very varied ; the ivy, for
instance, throwing out root-like forms from the stems, which, by

Convolvulus.

their grasp and penetration into the hollows of brickwork or the
bark of other trees, amply suffice to support the plant; the bryony,
passion-flower, and many other plants throw out true tendrils

from the stem ; the goose-grass clings by means of the small
hook-like appendages with which the stems and under sides of the
leaves are furnished ; while in the pea the tendrils spring from the
end of the leaf-petiole. The C. arvcusis, like the silverweed, the
pimpernel, and many other equally familiar plants, seem to be
cosmopolitan. De Candolle, in his " Geographie Botanique,"
records its occurrence in a truly indigenous state in localities so
widely differing in temperature, soil, &c, as Sweden, Siberia,
China, India, Persia, Arabia, Egypt, Abyssinia, New Holland,
Mauritius, the Azores, Canada, Mexico, and Chili. The only
instances of the use of the plant in mediaeval ornament with
which we are acquainted are in wood-carving on the ends of the
stalls in Wells Cathedral, and in a similar position in the Church
of St. Gereon, Cologne ; in each case the leaves only are repre-
sented. Illustrations of the natural growth will be seen in S. B.
1 66 ; E. B. 923 ; T. N. O. 97 ; and P. F. 93.

The Corn Blue-bottle [Caitaiirca Cyanus), from its deli-
cacy of growth, and the beauty of the flower-heads, would
be a valuable plant for the decoration of surfaces requiring a
delicate treatment, such as muslins and lace. It is one of the
characteristic flowers of the corn-field, and, in conjunction with the
poppy, would be valuable in any floral grouping symbolic of
autumn. The plant was at one time held to pi >s great
remedial virtue, though its use is now abandoned. The generic
name, Centaureay refers to an old legend that the Centaur Chiron,
when wounded by Hercules, recovered his strength by the use ot
this herb. A very characteristic name in some parts ot the

36 ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

country is hurt-sickle, in allusion to its hard and wiry stems. An
example of its use in ornamental art will be found in a sixteenth-
century MS. in the Library of the British Museum. The treat-
ment, as is usual at that period of the illuminator's art, is very
naturalistic. Drawings of the natural plant may be seen in
S. B. 159 ; E. B. 709 ; F. L. vol. vi. 62 ; and P. F. 8.

The Corn Marigold [Chrysanthemum segetum) is, like the last,
one of the characteristic and striking plants of the harvest-field,
the intense scarlet of the poppy, the rich blue of the blue-bottle,
and the brilliant yellow of the present flower, forming a very beau-
tiful trio. The generic name, Chrysanthemum, alludes to this bril-
liancy of colour seen in several of the species, being derived from
two Greek words signifying golden flower. There is consider-
able quaintness in the forms of the leaves, and the general growth
of the plant renders it well adapted for art-treatment. We are
unable to refer you to any examples of its introduction in the
ornament of the past, but any of our readers desiring to remedy a
neglect so unjustifiable will find reliable drawings of it in E. B.
713; F. L. vol. vi. 60 ; P. F. 28.

The Daffodil [Narcissus pseudo-narcissus). This beautiful
flower will be found of value to the designer, both from its own
inherent beauty, and also more especially in combination with the
primrose, wild hyacinth, or cowslip, in any design where it is desir-
able to embody the idea of spring, since it is one of the most strik-
ing plants of that season of the year. The daffodil may be found
in meadows and copses, and is generally abundant throughout
England, though in many cases probably as an escape from the

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS. 37

cottage-garden. In Ireland and Scotland it is never met with
except under such circumstances. Where the daffodil has once
established itself it grows with great freedom, and will generally
be met with in profusion, though it is so local in its growth, that
even if abundant in any one spot, it may frequently be sought for
in vain throughout the rest of a district. The flowers, of a pure
and brilliant yellow, grow singly upon the stalks, each rising
directly from the root. The daffodil has a very wide area of
distribution, being met with throughout the greater part of
Europe, and more especially in the south-west ; it is, for instance,
one of the characteristic plants of the meadows and hillside
pastures of Spain, together with the two-flowered narcissus
(N. biflorus\ a plant which, though abundant in Southern Europe,
has never been naturalised in England. It may be frequently
met with in cultivation, and will easily be distinguished from the
daffodil from the flowers being generally in pairs upon the stem,
and from their creamy white or straw colour. The generic name,
Narcissus, is derived from a Greek word signifying stupor, in
allusion to the heavy and powerful odour of another species, the
N. poctiais.

Drawings of the daffodil will be met with in E. B. 1501,
and P. F. 89. The daffodil being like the daisy and eglantine,
what we may perhaps be allowed to term a poet's flower, a further
reason for intimacy with it is furnished to the designer, as he may
possibly be required to make a design for a page border to some
edition de luxe of Wordsworth or Herrick.

The Daisy [Bell is perennis). So many rural and poetic

3 8 ART-STUDIES FROM NA TURK.

associations cluster around this "wee, modest, crimson-tipped
flower," that our list would be sadly incomplete did it not find
a place in it. Leaving the consideration of these associations,
however, we would desire to point out that on its own inherent
merits it is a plant admirably adapted for art-work, the forms
of the leaves, buds, and flowers being all very ornamental in
character, and well suited to the decoration of any light fabric.
The generic name, Bellisy testifies to the general appreciation,
being derived from the Lat. bcllus, pretty. Daisy is a corruption
of its old English name, day's eye.

" As soon as ever the sunne ginneth west
To sene this flower, how it will go to rest,
For fear of night, so hateth she darkness.
Well by reason men it call maie
The Daisie, or else the Eye of the Daie."

In France it is called Marguerite, from Lat. margarita, a pearl,
— hence ladies of gentle birth, of that name, frequently chose
it in the days of chivalry as their device. It may be seen carved
in stone on the gateway of St. John's College, Cambridge, founded
by Margaret, Countess of Richmond. It also occurs in carvings
at Cubberley, Gloucestershire ; Coton, in Cambridgeshire ; and
Culham, in Oxfordshire.

" The daisie, or flower white and rede,
And in French called la belle Marguerite,
To heme I have so great affectioun
As I sayd erst, when comen is the Maie,
That in my bedde there dawneth me no daie
That I n'am up and walking in the mede
To see this floure ayenst the sunne sprede,

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS. 39

So glad am I, that when I have presence
Of it to doue it all reverence,
As she that is of all Homes the floure,
Fulfilled of all vertue and honoure ;
And ever ylike faire and fresh of hewe ;
And ever I love it, and ever ylike newe."

Chaucer.

The family of Parr bore as one of their devices a tuft of daisies.
The daisy may be met with abundantly in pasture land and the
grassy borders of country roads, blooming freely from April to
October. Illustrations may be seen in E. B. 772 ; F. L. vol. i. 62 ;
T. N. O. 76; P. F. 63.

The Dog-Rose [Rosa canind). This is one of the commonest of
our numerous species of English wild rose — a family which, like
the brambles, willows, and others, has by some botanists been
cut up into several species from more or less obvious botanical
marks, frequently of a nature, however, which subjects them to be
by other observers considered as mere variations depending upon
chance external influences ; thus, while one writer reduces the
various rose forms to five specific types, another, of equally high
standing, mentions nineteen species as occurring in Britain. This
refinement of scientific observation will, however, be of no real
service to the designer : for his purpose the dog-rose, the most
familiar of our English species, may be accepted as a fairly
typical flower. The garden varieties of roses are derived from the
Rosa sempervirens of Southern Europe, the R. Indica, an Asiatic
species, and many others. The sweet-briar, R. rubigtnosa, one of
our wild English species, is also a favourite in many gardens
from the fragrance of its leaves when pressed in the hand. The

4o

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

word rose is derived, according to some authors, from the Celtic
rkos, which is in turn derived from the adjective rkodd, red ; while
others affirm that it descends to us from the Latin rosa, itself
deduced from the Greek rodon, derived from erythros, red ; but we
are unable to give any satisfactory clue to the meaning of the
prefix "dog" in the familiar English name, the same idea being

Dog-Rose.

also evidently expressed in the specific word canma, in the French
rose de chien, and the German Hundrose. Some writers, however,
imagine it to refer to the uselessness of the plant, and quote the
scentless or dog-violet as another illustration in support of their
theory. Even on the lowest utilitarian ground this theory is
scarcely tenable, since the plant is largely used by gardeners as a

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS, 41

stock for grafting, while the fruit is also considerably employed in
medicine. The rose, though commonly met with in ornament
throughout the whole of the Decorated and Perpendicular periods
of Gothic, is more especially found in the latter, since it was then
employed not merely on its own merits, but also as the badge of
the Tudors ; hence, as an heraldic form, we frequently meet with it
in secular no less than in ecclesiastical work. It is also, we need
scarcely say, the badge of England, as the shamrock and thistle
are of Ireland and Scotland respectively. It was also the personal
badge of Edward I., and the family device of the De la Warres.
Examples of the heraldic use of the rose are very numerous ;
it may merely suffice to mention Hampton Court and Henry
VII.'s Chapel at Westminster as abounding in illustrations. In
the church at Hawton, Nottinghamshire, in a sculptured repre-
sentation of the Resurrection, there is as a background a very
elaborate and beautiful diaper of the rose — its leaves, flowers, and
buds being all employed ; this, as the Rose of Sharon, may
be considered as introduced in a symbolic sense, though we must
here mention that the plant ordinarily known as the Rose of
Sharon is not a true rose at all botanically. It is one of the
Hypericums. A golden rose has from time to time been given
by the popes to those whom they more especially desired to
reward for services rendered to the Church : Henry VIII. of
England received, together with his title " Defender of the Faith,"
this mark of honour from Pope Alexander VI. The dog-rose
will be found in flower in early summer, the colour of the
blossoms varying on different shrubs from pure white to a deep

G

pink ; the brilliant scarlet fruit, an equally ornamental feature,
being met with as the season advances. Illustrations of the
natural growth of the plant will be seen in M. B. 139, S. C. 100,
P. F. 7, 90, 96 ; and T. N. O. 51.

Examples of its use in decorative art occur at Winchester,
where a hollow moulding is filled with a waved line of rose leaves
and flowers ; in a boss in Beverley Minster ; in a glass quarry
at Yaxley, Suffolk ; in a more conventionalised treatment in a
panel of Perpendicular period, East Harling Church, Norfolk ; a
very good example as a glass quarry, Milton Church, Cambridge ;
in a piece of oak-carving in the stalls at Wells ; in the carving of
a tomb in Bourges Cathedral ; a capital at Miraflores ; a
hollow moulding wreathed with alternate flowers and leaves
in one of the doorways of Notre Dame, Paris. Many other
instances might be given, but these will suffice to show how
favourite a plant the rose has been in past ornament. The
following extract from the old herbalist Gerarde, though the
adulation is, from its implied reference to Elizabeth, somewhat
fulsome, is a further illustration of its association heraldically
with the Tudors : " The plant of roses, though it be a shrub full
of prickles, yet it had bin more fit and convenient to have placed
it with the most glorious flowTers of the world, than to insert the
same here among base and thorny shrubs " (this allusion refers to
Gerarde's system of classification), " for the rose doth deserve the
chief and prime place among all flowers whatsoever, being not
only esteemed for his beauty, vertues, and his fragrant and
odoriferous smell, but also because it is the honour and ornament

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS. 43

of our English Scepter, in the uniting of those two most Royall
Houses of Lancaster and Yorke."

The subject of our next illustration is derived from the
Feverfew [Chrysanthemum fiarthenium\ a plant widely dis-
tributed over Britain, but at the same time with doubtful claims
to be considered a true native ; it is, however, thoroughly at home
in those places in which it is to be met with, and from the clear
white daisy-like flowers and the delicate green of its handsome
foliage it merits the attention of designers of ornamental art.

Feverfew.

From its lightness and the deep cutting of the leaves, the
feverfew would be found of more service in painted or engraved
ornament than in any kind of relief work. The feverfew has
a reputation among herbalists as a bitter and tonic ; and no
doubt, before the introduction of quinine and such-like more
powerful remedies, would possess a valued and considerable
remedial virtue. The familiar English name implies this, and is
one of the numerous class of names, as eyebright, goutwTeed,
lungroot, livelong, wormwood, &c, given to plants in recognition

44 ART- STUDIES FROM NATURE.

of their real or fancied medicinal use. Drawings of the natural
growth of the feverfew may be seen in E. B. 715; M. B. 249;
P. F. 39.

Fool's Parsley. We have selected this plant, the JEthusa
cynapium, as a good representative of the very large order of
plants known botanically as the Umbelliferce. The whole of the
plants of this order, as the name implies, have their flowers
growing in umbels, that is to say, all the flower-stalks start
from one point on the stem, and radiate from the common centre.
Many of the Umbelliferce, as the parsley, carrot, fennel, and celery,
must be familiar to our readers, though they may not have noticed
particularly this umbellate mode of flowering. Several of the
species are exceedingly poisonous : of these we may instance the
hemlock, the water-dropwort, and the present plant. With very
few exceptions, the flowers of the wThole of the plants of this order
are either white or yellow. The fool's parsley is so called from a
slight resemblance which the plant bears to the common parsley
of the kitchen-garden. Though the differences are not difficult to
detect — the flowers, for instance, of the fool's parsley being white,
and those of garden-parsley yellow ; the leaves of the first giving
a disagreeable odour when bruised, and those of the second a rich
aromatic scent — the want of a little circumspection has frequently
led to serious and even fatal results. The plant is the more
dangerous from its being rarely met with except on cultivated
ground. The generic name, sEthusa, is given to it in allusion to its
acrid nature, being derived from a Greek word signifying to burn,
while cynapium means dog's parsley. Though as yet we have

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS. 45

said nothing but evil of it, it is but just to add in its favour that,
ornamentally, it is a very desirable plant for insertion in our list,
the leaves, flower-buds, and general growth being very graceful,
and well suited for the decoration of any delicate fabric. For illus-
trations of the plant we would refer you to F. L. vol. i. 18; S. C. 8;
S. B. 139. It will be found in flower during July and August.

The Ground-Ivy [Nepeta glechoma), the subject of our next two
illustrations, is so commonly distributed throughout Britain, that
there can be but little need of our dwelling at any great length
upon a description of it, though, from its habit of trailing on the
ground and among the roots of larger plants, it is not so con-
spicuous to the eye as many others. Its English name, ground-
ivy, refers to its slight resemblance in mode of growth to the com-
mon ivy, though in every other respect they are very dissimilar,
the ground-ivy having rounded or reniform leaves growing in
pairs up the stem, the flowers large and of a brilliant colour,
tubular and bisymmetrical, while in the ivy the leaves terminate
in an acute point, and spring singly from the stem, the flowers
small, pale green, multisymmetrical in form, and composed of
five distinct petals. The generic name, Nepeta, is derived from
nepa, a scorpion, from an old belief that the bite of the scorpion
was rendered harmless if treated by means of a recipe of which
a preparation of our present plant was the leading ingredient.
The flower of the ground-ivy, though generally of a deep purplish
blue, may sometimes be met with of a pure white. This variation
from a given colour to white is comparatively not uncommon in
many of our wild plants, though more especially noticeable in

46

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

plants of normally blue- or purple flowers: thus the purple foxglove,
blue Jacob's ladder, pink herb-robert, purple snapdragon, blue
harebell, and many others, are occasionally to be found with white
blossoms. The ground-ivy, from its abundance, and also from
its past and present medicinal use, may be met with in the works
of various authors under a great choice of synonyms: of these
alehoof is the most common ; others, almost equally familiar,
being creep-by-ground and cat's-foot. When not in flower the
general appearance ot the marsh pennywort [Hydrocotylc vulgaris)

Ground- Ivy

is, to a casual observer, not altogether unlike that of the ground-
ivy ; but the pennywort is only met with on swampy ground, the
leaves are peltate or shield-like, the stalk rising from the centre
of the under side of the leaf, as we see it in the more familiar
garden nasturtium [Tropccolitm majus), differing in these respects
from the ground-ivy. When in blossom, the contrast between
the greenish-yellow flower of the pennywort and the deep purple
of the flowers of the ground-ivy is too marked to permit of any
chance of error. The only examples of the use of the ground-ivy

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS.

47

with which we are acquainted in the ornament of the past are
in a small spandrel in one of the doorways at Rheims Cathedral,
and on some of the flooring tiles from the ruins of the Abbey of
Chertsey, Surrey. In the latter case the leaves are four in
number, in a cruciform arrangement within a quatrefoil — a very
simple yet true and effective treatment of the plant ; for as the
leaves grow, as we have already mentioned, in pairs, and as
each pair of leaves is placed upon the stem at right angles to
the pairs immediately above and beneath it, the effect produced

Ground- Ivy.

in looking down upon the plant is necessarily cruciform in cha-
racter. A great variety of these Chertsey tiles may be seen in
the South Kensington Museum : though very simple in design,
they afford excellent examples of the true application of the
principles which should govern the introduction of natural forms,
and are well worthy of the attention of the student of decorative
art. In both these cases, Rheims and Chertsey, the leaves alone
are employed, as the flowers, from their intricacy of detail and
position upon the plant, would require the aid of colour to bring

48 ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

them out with due effect ; hence, while the ground-ivy, during
its period of flowering, is admirably adapted for surface decora-
tion, muslins, wall-papers, and many other such-like purposes,
it is but ill suited to relief- work in stone or wood. Refer to
S. B. 172; E. B. 1055; F. L. vol. ii. 44; M. B. 28, for illustra-
tions of the natural growth of the ground-ivy.

Groundsel, though a plant exceedingly likely to be over-
looked, is on that account the more deserving of a place in our list,
as it really possesses qualities which fully entitle it to the consi-
deration of the student of ornamental art, the general growth of
a good specimen being very vigorous and characteristic, and the
variety of beautiful forms seen in the leaves a further recom-
mendation. The botanical name is Senecio vulgaris. Senccio is
derived from senex, an old man, in allusion to the grey heads
of seed-down which succeed the blossoms. The groundsel may
be met with abundantly almost everywhere, and may at all
times of the year be found in flower. Drawings of the plant
may be seen in E. B. 749 ; F. L. vol. i. 61 ; P. F. 2.

The Harebell {Campanula rohindifolia). This graceful little
plant may generally be found in profusion on dry and hilly
pastures and heaths, though by no means in such localities ex-
clusively, as the roadside hedge-bank is another favourite spot.
There are ten species indigenous to England, most of them of
great beauty and adaptability to art-requirements : of these we
may in particular mention the C. hcdcracca, the ivy-leaved cam-
panula, a little plant by no means uncommon in moist shady
pastures and swampy low-lying ground. The present species is

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS. 49

abundant everywhere throughout Europe and Northern Asia.
The Canterbury bell (C. medium) is an allied and familiar garden
species.

The generic name, Campanula, means a little bell, and from the
shape of the corolla is aptly applied to these plants. Rotundtfolia,
meaning round-leaved, seems at first sight a misnomer, as the
leaves most easily visible on a cursory glance at the plant are
thin and strap-shaped. The lower leaves of the plant, however,
are rounded in form ; and, as we study the foliage, we shall see

Harebell.

a delicate ascending gradation of form, from the rounded leaves
at the lower end of the stem, to the thin, almost grass-like leaves
of the upper part. Drawings of the harebell will be found in
T. N. O. 80; P. F. 12.

The Hazel-nut [Corylus avellana) is so familiar a shrub that
any lengthened description of it must be needless, or, to quote
our old writer, Gerarde : " Our hedge-nut, or hazel-nut tree,
which is very well knowne, and therefore needeth not any
description, whereof there are also sundry sorts, some great,
some little, as also one that is in our gardens, which is very

H

50

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

great, bigger than any filberd, and yet a kinde of hedge-nut ;
this then that hath beene said shall suffice for hedge-nuts."
The smaller twigs of the hazel afford an excellent charcoal for
artistic purposes, and the long straight shoots, thrown up with
such rapidity and vigour, are largely employed in the manu-

Nut.

facture of the crates in which earthenware is packed — a use for
which their size and flexibility combined with great strength
admirably fit them, as the rods, when the wood is still green,
may be bent almost double before they will give way. There is
a pleasing appropriateness in its English name, hazel-nut, derived

from the Anglo-Saxon haesel, a hat, and hnuf, a nut or ball,
which we notice and appreciate when we see the fruit in its
natural state, surrounded by the foliaceous and cap-like partial
envelope formed by the scales of the involucre. The generic
name also, Corylus, refers to this peculiarity of growth, being
derived from a Greek word signifying a covering for the head.
The natural order to which the hazel belongs includes several
trees of great value to man, either on account of their timber
or their fruit — such, for example, as the beech, Spanish chestnut,
and the oak ; and in the olden time, when a belief in the use
of the divining-rod, as an indicator of subterranean springs, was
common, the mystic virtue was sought in the forked twigs of
the hazel. The size of the leaves and the striking character
of the fruit alike combine to render it a plant admirably fitted for
the purposes of ornamental art, though the only example of its
use, so far as we are aware, may be seen in a hollow moulding
in the cathedral at Winchester, where, upon a continuous scroll
running along the centre of the moulding, both foliage and fruit
are introduced. The leaves are deeply serrated, and the nuts
grow in clusters of two, three, or four, the general treatment
being very naturalistic. Among the many extraordinary re-
medies in use by our ancestors, hazel-nuts occupied a place,
being employed in complaints affecting the chest, though, even
then, when scarcely any reputed remedy seems to have been
thought too fanciful and absurd, some appear to have ventured
to doubt the efficacy of the medicine, bringing down upon them-
selves the scathing rebuke of the faculty, as we find in the follow-

52 ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

ing extract from an old medical work, where, after the setting
forth of the benefits to be derived from the use of the hazel as
a remedial agent, he goes on to say : — " And if this be true, as
it is, then why should the vulgar so familiarly affirm that eating
nuts causeth shortness of breath ? than which nothing is falser.
For how can that which strengthens the lungs cause shortness
of breath ? I confess the opinion is far older than I am ; I
know tradition was a friend to error before, but never that he
was the father of slander; or are men's tongues so given to
slandering one another, that they must slander nuts too to keep
their tongues in use ? And so thus have I made an apology for
nuts, which cannot speak for themselves." For illustrations of
the growth of the nut, see W. H. H., Plate B, Fig. i ; T. N. O. 127.
Our next illustration is derived from the Hawthorn, White-
thorn, or May [Cratcegus oxycantha), a plant familiar to every
one, from its being so extensively used for hedgerows ; its
strength, closeness of growth, and spiny character, admirably
adapting it to the purpose. The wood is very hard, and will
take a high polish ; the generic name, Cratcegus, from a Greek
word signifying strength, being an allusion to this character-
istic of the plant. Its use- as a hedgerow plant in England
dates, according to Sowerby, from the time of the Romans, and
of this there can be but little doubt, as its most common name —
hawthorn — is, literally, the hedge-thorn, from the Saxon word
hage. The second name — white-thorn — has been given to it in
contradistinction to the black-thorn [Prunus spinosa), a somewhat
similar, and, in a wild state, almost equally common plant ; the

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANIS.

53

stems of the latter being very dark in colour, while in the haw-
thorn or white-thorn they are comparatively light. The third
name, May, has obvious reference to the time of flowering. The
leaves of the plant are exceedingly varied in form, affording a
great choice for the selection of the ornamentist ; some being

Hawthorn.

very simple in character, while others are deeply cut, and very
rich and beautiful in outline. A permanent variety may be
occasionally met with, in which the leaves, instead of being of
the ordinary deep and bluish green, are in addition irregularly
blotched with varying and intermingling tones of yellow. The
flowers also of the hawthorn are subject to considerable variation

5+ . 1 R T-STl TDIES FROM NATURE.

in colour : the typical state is a pure milky white ; but owing
to the nature of the soil in which the plant is found, the blossoms
may occasionally be seen varying from a pale pink to almost
crimson. The berries, also, though generally of a deep crimson
colour, are sometimes of an intensely golden yellow. An old
writer, Culpepper, in his " British Herbal," a treatise partly astro-
logical and partly medicinal, having first stated that the plant
is under the dominion of Mars, thus defines the medicinal pro-
perties of the hawthorn : — " The seeds in the berries, beaten to
powder, being drank in wine, are held singular good against the
dropsy. The seed, cleared from the down, bruised and boiled in
wine, and drank, is good for inward tormenting pains. If cloths
and sponges be wet in the distilled water, and applied to any
place wherein thorns and splinters, or the like, do abide in the
flesh, it will notably draw them forth. And thus you see the
thorn gives a medicine for its own pricking, and so doth almost
everything else/'

Though to a certain extent foreign to our subject, we may
perhaps be permitted to say that, to the naturalist, as well as
to the botanist and the designer of ornamental art, the tree
possesses considerable attractions, the berries being the favourite
fruit of many of our birds, and the foliage being sometimes com-
pletely stripped by the larvae of various butterflies and moths,
such as the small Ermine, the Brimstone moth, and many others ;
while among the poets, Chaucer, Milton, Shakspeare, Words-
worth, Goldsmith, Bampfylde, and Tennyson, have all found in
it a source of beauty and inspiration. It has also been one

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS. 55

of the favourite plants of the ornamentists, occurring very com-
monly in the works of the Middle Ages. It would be both
tedious and unnecessary to give anything like an exhaustive
catalogue of its use in past art : as good examples out of many,
we would merely cite its occurrence in a finial in the Lady
Chapel, Exeter ; as a stone-diaper alternating with oak, at
Lincoln ; in two fine spandrels, and a beautiful capital, very
full and rich in its wreathing, in the Chapter-house, Southwell.
Other examples occur in the cathedrals at Ely, Wells, and
Winchester. Wherever met with in ornamental art, the leaves
and berries are the parts selected : to the best of our knowledge
the flowers have never, in any instance, been introduced, no
doubt from the fact of the minuteness and delicacy of each indi-
vidual blossom, and its habit of growing in clusters, which,
though extremely beautiful in nature, are, from their intricacy
of detail, unsuited to the purposes of the ornamentist. Similarly,
though the plant in its natural growth is often exceedingly
spiny, it is, in ornamental art, represented as almost or entirely
without this characteristic feature, as there would be a great
practical difficulty, in any kind of relief-work at least, in the
satisfactory introduction of forms so minute and fragile, yet re-
quiring so high a relief. Drawings of hawthorn will be found
in P. F. 68; T. N. O. 52.

The Herb -Robert [Geranium Robertianuni) is one of the
numerous family of cranesbills, so called from a supposed resem-
blance between the form of the fruit and the bill of that bird, a
resemblance also indicated in the generic name, Geranium, derived

56

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

from the Greek geranosy a crane. The herb-robert is one of the
most abundantly distributed plants of the genus, being met with
throughout the whole of Britain and in many other parts of the
world, growing upon all kinds of soils, and flourishing equally
well upon hedge-banks, waste ground, and old walls. Owing
to the foliage turning a brilliant crimson in autumn, the plant
becomes very striking and conspicuous as the year advances,
a peculiarity which will greatly aid its identification by those of
our readers who are not acquainted with it. The flowers are of a

Herb-Robert.

delicate pink colour, though they may occasionally be met with
of a pure white : this variety grows abundantly near Nutfield, in
Surrey, for instance. The whole of the cranesbill family will well
repay the attention and study of the ornamentist, the dove's-foot
cranesbill (G. molle), and the blue meadow cranesbill [G. firatense),
being especially suited to the requirements of the designer. The
latter is a very striking plant, and when once seen cannot well be
mistaken, each flower being almost two inches in diameter, of a
deep purple blue, and veined with lines of reddish purple : the

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS. 57

leaves also are very deeply cut, and of a highly ornamental
character. An illustration of the ornamental treatment of the
herb-robert may be seen in an elaborate specimen of embroidery,
last-century work, in the South Kensington Museum ; while
drawings of the natural plant can be referred to in T. N. O. 38 ;
V. W. 412 ; F. L. vol. i. 52 ; P. F. 34.

Holly [Ilex aqiri folium). This plant, from its association
with winter, should be one of those familiar to the student of
ornamental art. Drawings of it may be found in S. B. 184;
W. H. H., Plate A, Fig. 4 ; P. F. 27 ; G. O. 95. The holly is indige-
nous to most parts of Europe. Its influence may be traced in the
names of several places, as for example Holmwood, near Dorking ;
the holly by old writers being also termed Holm and Hulver.
Though ordinarily met with as a hedgerow shrub, it will, if
allowed to grow, attain to no inconsiderable height — often thirty to
forty feet ; while a particularly fine specimen at Claremont, in
Surrey, is a little over eighty feet high, and has a trunk six feet in
circumference. The growth is very slow, the timber close-grained
and hard, the annual layers of woody fibre being exceedingly
compact. This fineness of grain, its whiteness and its beauty
when polished, render it of great service in carving and inlay
work. It has also been extensively used in the place of box for
wood - engraving, and for the blocks used for engraving the
patterns of calicoes and wall-papers. It would no doubt be still
more extensively used than it is did not its rarity render it so
costly, as, though holly bushes are plentiful enough, the owner
of a fine tree is generally loath to have it cut down. The chief

1

use of the holly is in the formation of hedges, as its formidable
spines, evergreen foliage, its slight attraction for insects, and
closeness of growth, are all valuable recommendations ; we
often thus meet with it in old-fashioned gardens. " Is there
under heaven a more glorious and refreshing object of the kind
than an impregnable hedge, of 160 feet in length, 7 feet high,
and 5 in diameter, which I can show in my poor gardens at any
time of the year, glittering with its armed and varnished leaves ?
It mocks at the rudest assaults of the weather, beasts, or hedge-
breakers." This hedge, the pride of John Evelyn's garden, did
not prove so impregnable to the hedge-breaker as its owner
fondly thought, since one of the great amusements of the Czar
Peter, during his stay with Evelyn, was to trundle a wheelbarrow
through it, to the ultimate ruin of the hedge and the no small
sorrow of its hospitable owner.

A variety of holly having yellow berries is sometimes met
with. Some little while ago, a branch with bright orange-
coloured berries was exhibited at one of the meetings of the
Linnaean Society, a scion of the yellow-fruited variety having been
grafted on a scarlet-berried stock, with this curious result. The
holly may also sometimes be met with having variegated leaves,
the normal dark glossy green being blotched with a clear yellow
or white. The lower leaves of the tree are edged with sharp spines,
while the upper branches have the foliage quite free from these : —

" Below, a circling fence, its leaves are seen
Wrinkled and keen ;
No grazing cattle, through their prickly round,
Can reach to wound ;

But as they grow where nothing is to fear,
Smooth and unarmed the pointless leaves appear."

SOUTHEY.

Ornamentally, the holly may be met with in a glass quarry in
Brandeston Church, Suffolk ; also on a mediaeval flooring-tile in
the British Museum. We are not aware of any other ancient
examples of its use, though doubtless those given do not exhaust
the list. We trust, should another edition be called for, to be
able, by further investigation, to remedy this shortcoming. The
name holly is a corruption of holy, and alludes to its connection
with Christmas. In some of the old herbals it is written " holy
tree," while in some countries this connection is rendered still
more emphatic, the German name being Christdom, the Danish
and Swedish, Christorn*

The next subject we have chosen as an illustration of the
adaptability of our native plants to the purposes of the orna-
mentist is the Hop [Humulus htpulus). Though we do not recall
any example of its use in the ornament of the past, except in one
of the capitals at Southwell Minster, it nevertheless appears to us
a plant well deserving of a place in our columns. Its climbing
habit, the beauty of the leaves, and the size of the cones, are all
features which in an especial manner seem to fit it for the service
of the designer ; and it appears curious that, while so great a
choice was at the disposal of the old carvers, they practically left
so large a field untouched. Our architecture, for instance, abounds
with details of oak, maple, and hawthorn ; yet the nut and the
wild rose, plants at least as striking and as common, occur but

6o

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

rarely, while the hop, bindweed, blackberry, and many others,
seem to have been almost entirely neglected. The hop is found
in a truly wild state in our hedgerows and copses, its weak stems,

Hop.

powerless to support themselves, trailing a long distance, and
running up any tree or other support with which they may come
in contact, and wreathing it with their beautiful clusters of foliage
and fruit. It is also largely cultivated in England, France, Bel-

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS. 6i

gium, and Germany ; its tonic properties, and the fragrant bitter
principle found in it, chemically termed lupuline, being, it is
almost needless to say, utilised in the making of beer. It was
thus first used in the reign of Henry VIII. , before that time the
fresh top shoots of broom being employed to give the desired
bitterness. The young shoots are in some parts of the country
cooked and eaten like asparagus. Gerarde, writing in the reign
of Elizabeth, says, " The hop joyeth in a fat and fruitfull ground,
also it groweth amongst briers and thornes about the borders of
fields. The flowers are used to season beere or ale with, and too
many do cause bitternesse thereof, and are ill for the head. The
manifold vertues of hops do manifest argue the wholesomnesse
of beere, for the hops rather make it a physicall drinke to keep
the body in health, than an ordinary drinke for the quenching
of our thirst." The leaves of the hop are sometimes heart-shaped,
at others divided into three very distinctly marked lobes, in either
case the margins being deeply serrate. The order to which the
hop belongs includes many plants useful to man, as, for instance,
among several others, the hemp, mulberry, fig, the Urostigma
elasttcum, yielding india-rubber, and the bread-fruit tree.

About forty million pounds weight of hops are annually
employed in brewing in England. Kent and Surrey are the
chief means of supply, though those grown in the rich soil of
the Vale of Severn, in the neighbourhood of Worcester, are by
no means inferior to the best Kentish. The crop is a very specu-
lative one, the dangers which surround it being legion ; the
profits are, however, so great that the grower is reimbursed if

62

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

one crop in three should turn out well. The hops grown in the
neighbourhood of Farnham command the highest prices. The
etymology of the word is unknown ; the Germans term it Hop/en.
Hops have been cultivated in Germany from time immemorial,
and it is from thence that we derive both the plant and its name.
Drawings of the natural growth will be found in E. B. 1284,
S. C. 41 ; T. N. O. 125 ; and P. F. 4.

The Yellow- Horned Poppy (Glaucium luteinn) will no doubt
have attracted the attention of many from the peculiarity of its

Yellow-homed Poppy.

habitat,- growing and flourishing as it does by the seashore,
where little else appears to thrive, and by the delicate green of
its foliage, the brilliant yellow of its blossom, and its spreading
growth, covering large expanses of the shingly beach with a very
striking and beautiful carpet. The pods, a highly ornamental
feature, may occasionally be found almost a foot in length, and,
together with the form of leaf and locality of growth, effectually
distinguish it from the yellow Welsh poppy {Meconoftsis Cambrica).
The scarlet-horned and the violet-horned poppies, allied species,

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS.

63

are both exceedingly rare in England : the latter, from its finely-
cut leaves and size of the flowers, is well adapted to art-purposes.
The yellow-horned poppy will be found in flower from June to
October. Drawings of it occur in E. B. 66 ; P. F. 91.

Ivy [Hedera helix). We have already, in speaking of the
ground- ivy, dwelt to a certain extent upon the characteristics of
the present plant, and, from its abundance and conspicuous
appearance, any lengthened descriptive details must be unneces-
sary, as there can be but few to whom the ivy is not perfectly

Ivy.

familiar. We meet with it upon old buildings, rocks, and in the
woods and hedgerows, running over the surface of the ground,
or covering the trunks and main branches of the trees with its
interlacing stems and masses of rich foliage. Opinions have
been very varied as to whether the luxuriant growth of the ivy
is detrimental or not to the trees which it embraces ; for while
some have considered that its presence is a benefit, and particu-
larly in severe winters, others have held that the compression
caused by the long and closely adhering branches impairs the

64

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

vigour and stunts the growth of the tree. The belief that the
ivy, like the mistletoe, draws its nourishment from the tree is
now no longer held, as it has been satisfactorily proved that the
so-called rootlets (or, as they are perhaps more expressively
termed by De Candolle, crampons) which we see thrown out from
the clinging stems do not drain the sap of the supporting tree,
but must be regarded as a beautiful mechanical contrivance to aid,
by their support and grasp, the ascent of the ivy. We find that
these little bodies are equally developed where masses of rock

have to be scaled, and that the plant thrives with equal vigour
where support is clearly their sole function ; and if, on the other
hand, the ivy runs upon the ground, the crampons are not deve-
loped, as no such supporting members are then needed. The
ivy is one of the plants indigenous to Britain, and derives its
familiar name from the Anglo-Saxon tfig. Considerable differ-
ences of opinion have been held as to the meaning of the generic
name, Hedera : the best derivation appears to us to be that which
assigns as its origin the old Celtic word for rope or cord, hcdra,

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS. 65

as it exactly expresses the characteristic appearance of the
growth. The ivy flowers during October and November, a time
of the year when but few other plants are in blossom ; hence it
becomes the favourite resort of various insects, while the berries
are fully ripe by March, and afford a welcome food for the black-
bird, missal-thrush, wood-pigeon, and many others, at a season
when, from the scarcity of other food, they become peculiarly
acceptable. The Romans dedicated the ivy to Bacchus, and in
their sculpture he is generally represented as crowned by an ivy
wreath, from an old belief, mentioned by Pliny and others, that
the plant thus worn neutralised the intoxicating effects of wine.
The leaves of the ivy vary very considerably in form, a feature
which the ornamentist will appreciate. The leaves upon the
flowering branches are somewhat egg or heart shaped, with a
very acute point, the more familiar ornamental form of the five-
lobed leaf not being found upon this portion of the plant ; hence
it is perhaps scarcely legitimate to employ the berries with the
five-pointed form of leaf, though in the introduction of the plant
in the ornament of the Middle Ages this was entirely disregarded.
The ivy was one of the favourite plants of the mediaeval orna-
mentist. Examples of its use are very numerous : of these we
need mention but a few. We find the leaves and branches alone
introduced, for instance, in wood-carving in the stalls of the choir
of St. Margaret's Church, Lynn ; in stonework, as a crocket, in
the Chapter-house, Wells ; as the foliage of one of the capitals
in the choir of Lincoln Cathedral ; and in a beautiful example
at the springing of an arch at the Minster,- Southwell. We find

K

66 ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

the berries introduced with the leaves (in every case the leaf
having five points) in a hollow moulding in the cloisters at
Burgos in a particularly beautiful manner ; and in Paris on one
of the capitals of the Sainte Chapelle, and again in a similar
position in the chancel of Notre Dame — the first of these being
twelfth-century work, and curious from the very acute form of
leaf employed ; the second dating from the fourteenth century.
A very good English example may be seen in a spandrel in the
Chapter-house, Southwell. In ancient art we find the Egyptians
representing Osiris as bearing an ivy-wreathed thyrsus ; and
upon the Greek and Etruscan vases preserved in the British
Museum we frequently see running bands of ornament which we
can have little doubt are based upon the ivy: in most of the
examples the berries are introduced together with the heart-
shaped form of leaf, though in a few cases a three-pointed or a
rounded form of leaf, still distinctly ivy-like in character, is
substituted. Refer to T. N. O. 71 ; G. O. 93.

Our next illustration is derived from the Ivy-leaved Speed-
well ( Veronica hederifolia\ a plant of frequent occurrence, but
which, from its weak trailing habit and small size, may very
easily be overlooked. It may generally be met with on hedge-
banks, and flowers freely from March to August with a delicate
pale blue bi-symmetrical blossom. Drawings of the ivy-leaved
speedwell will be found in E. B. 970; S. B. 184.

Several of the veronicas are well adapted, from their grace and
delicacy of form, to the purposes of ornamental art, the brooklime
( V. beccabunga) and the germander speedwell ( V. chamcedrys)

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS. 67

being especially good. The flowers of all the species are bi-
symmetrical in form. The germander speedwell is by some
writers supposed to be the true forget-me-not.

Ivy-leaved Speedwell.

The Musk Mallow [Malva moschata), and the Common
Mallow [M. sylvestris), the subjects of our next illustrations,
are both common plants, the musk mallow being frequently met
with, and more especially on gravelly soils, while the common
mallow, though rare in Scotland, is abundant throughout Eng-
land on all kinds of ground. The flower of the common mallow is
of a pale purplish tint, with the veins of a darker purple : a very
rare variety has been met with, having the flowers of a pure blue.
The leaves are round in general outline, but deeply lobed into five
or seven divisions, and in olden time, before the introduction of
many of our present vegetables into England, were a common
article of diet. This, together with the musk mallow and the
marsh mallow [Althcea officinalis], possesses considerable medici-
nal repute, the whole plant being mucilaginous and demulcent in
character. The roots of the Althaea, boiled in water, will yield

68 ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

one half their weight of a glutinous matter, of great value from its
emollient qualities ; the leaves and fruit will also yield it, but in a
lesser degree. The virtues of the family have long been recog-
nised. Pliny held that whosoever should take a little of the
extract should throughout that day be free from all fear of
disease. Dioscorides considered it a sure antidote in cases of
poisoning ; while Hippocrates taught that its soothing action
especially fitted it as a vulnerary. The flowers of the musk
mallow are very large, and of a pure and delicate pink, the leaves

Common Mallow. Musk Mallow.

very deeply divided, a feature distinguishing it from all the other
British species of mallow. Its English name is suggested by the
slight musky smell of the foliage if pressed in the hand. The
Malvacece are chiefly tropical plants ; about six hundred species are
known, almost all possessing the mucilaginous character of our
British species, many yielding in addition a valuable fibre, and
some American and Asiatic species producing the well-known
cotton, a filamentous substance enveloping the seeds. The
hollyhock of our gardens also belongs to this family. The generic
name, Malva, is derived from a Greek word signifying to soften,

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS.

69

in allusion to the soothing effect of the greater number of the
genus, while the English name has clearly descended from the
Anglo-Saxon malu. Drawings of the common mallow may be
seen in F. L. vol. ii. 51 ; M. B. 54 ; P. F. 1 ; V. W. 393. The
musk mallow will be found in F. L. vol. iv. 50 ; T. N. O. 23.

The Maple [Acer campestre) is generally met with as a small
hedgerow tree throughout England, but it is not common in

Maple.

either Scotland or Ireland. The wood, though small in section, is
often very beautifully veined, and thus becomes of service for
furniture, inlay, &c. The bark is exceedingly rough, full of deep

yo ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

furrows, and very much resembling cork in its appearance. The
fruit is winged. The specific name, campestre, refers to the
localities in which the plant may be found, the open fields ;
while the generic name, Acer, sharp or hard, in Celtic ac, has been
bestowed upon it from the toughness of the wood. It was exten-
sively used by the ancient Britons in the fabrication of weapons of
war — spikes, spears, and lance handles. The English name
evidently descends from the Saxon mapul-dre. We thus in these
few words, Acer campestre, the maple, learn where the plant is to be
found ; one of its striking features, the hardness of the wood ; and
also, from its Saxon name, the fact of its being one of our indi-
genous shrubs. This has, from the beautiful forms of the leaves
and fruit, been largely introduced in mediaeval work. It occurs,
for instance, very beautifully treated, as one of a series of small
spandrels in the stalls of Lincoln Cathedral, and again in a
spandrel in the choir of Winchester. On the Continent two very
beautiful examples of it are seen in hollow mouldings in the
cathedrals of Evreux, and of Notre Dame, Paris. All these
specimens are of the fourteenth century. Drawings of the
natural growth may be seen in T. N. O. 30 ; P. F. 26 ; G. O. 94.

King-cup, or Marsh Marigold [Caltha palustrts\ a plant by
no means uncommonly met with in marshy ground, water-courses,
and such-like localities. It may frequently be found in tidal
streams, growing in such a position that at high tide it is com-
pletely covered ; we have thus seen it by the side of the Thames,
flourishing in great vigour and beauty, and at full tide swaying
with the force of the stream at a depth of from one to two feet

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS. 71

from the surface. In such situations the plant grows with
luxuriance, and from the large size and brilliant yellow of its
star-like flowers, the vigorous growth of the rich green foliage,
and the long succulent stems, it becomes a striking feature even
in the mass of bold healthy vegetation so commonly found by the
edges of a water-course : these, therefore, are the characters
which, in embodying the plant in any design, we must endeavour
to enforce. We are unacquainted with an}' early examples of the
use of the marsh marigold, except in one page of a fifteenth-
century illustration. This is the more curious since the name
marigold has reference to its use in the church-decorations of the
Middle Ages, upon those days more especially devoted to the
festivals associated with the Virgin Mary ; we should naturally,
therefore, have thought that, thus brought before the attention, its
ornamental features would have been perceived and permanently
embodied in some capital or spandrel. The generic name, Caltha,
is derived from a Greek word signifying cup, and expressively
points out a beautiful feature in the form of the flower ; while the
specific name, palustrisy is drawn from the Latin palus, a marsh,
and clearly indicates the localities naturally chosen by the plant.
The plant will be found in flower in the spring, remaining for a
considerable time in full bloom, and from its perennial nature
will, when once established in any locality, soon become a perma-
nent addition to the flora of the district. Representations of the
natural growth of the marsh marigold will be found in E. B. 40 ;

P. F. 54.

The Mistletoe — Anglo-Saxon, mistelta ( Viscum album) — is so

72

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

well known that it would appear strange that so familiar a plant
has been but little employed in mediaeval art, did we not remem-
ber that its pagan associations had placed it under a ban. The
only example of its use that has come under our observation is in
one of the spandrels of a tomb in Bristol Cathedral. The natural
growth will be found portrayed in M. B. 270 ; W. H. H., Plate A,
Fig. 3 ; P. F. 88. The lightness of the plant, and its association with
Christmas, seem features that render a knowledge of it desirable to
the ornamentist. It appears to us a plant capable of very exten-

Mistletoe.

sive use in the various developments of decorative art. We need
only mention a few — the backs of playing-cards, earthenware,
muslins, chintzes, wall-papers. Many other uses will, no doubt,
readily suggest themselves to our readers.

The Oak [Quercus robur\ while perhaps our best-known in-
digenous tree, from its wealth of legendary, religious, and historic
associations, has also been one of the favourite subjects of the
ornamentist, being abundantly found in carving, stencilling,
draperies, glass, &c, both in England and on the Continent,

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS.

73

throughout the whole range of the Decorated and Perpendicular
styles of Gothic, and the corresponding periods in France, Spain,
and Germany, and also afterwards in the various modifications
of the Renaissance. To refer at any length to the varied associa-
tions surrounding it would be foreign to our present purpose,
though its sacred character in the Druidical rites of the ancient

Oak.

Britons, the importance of its timber for the purposes of the ship-
wright and architect, the commercial value of the bark for use in
tanning, leading to the felling of thousands of trees every year, its
use in medicine, the bark being a powerful astringent, and an
infusion from Ihe galls so frequently found upon the oak being an
excellent antidote in cases of poisoning by the tartrate of anti-

L

mony, are all points of interest or utility in connection with it.
It has also been one of the favourite trees of the poets — Dryden,
Pope, Cowper, Wordsworth, and many others, having referred to
it in their writings ; while to the artist the rugged majesty and
vigour of the branches in winter, the brilliant bronze red of the
early spring foliage, the deep mass of dark green leaves in
summer-time, or the fiery glow it bears when touched by the
frosts of advancing winter, render it at all times a beautiful and
striking object in the landscape. The galls so generally met with
upon the leaves of the oak are caused by a small insect, the
Cynips Querciis-folii, which, by puncturing the leaf and laying
an egg in the wound, causes a diseased and abnormal growth of
the part : on cutting one of these galls open the grub will
generally be found within. The galls chiefly used in medicine
and commerce, though similar in their origin, are the work
of another little insect on a different and foreign species of
oak.

Though the oak is so familiar a tree in our woods and hedge-
rows, it must at one time, when England was extensively covered
by forests, have been still more abundant. We are led to this
conclusion from the great number of places whose names, handed
down to us from our early history, derive their force and meaning
from this abundance : thus Ockham, in Surrey, is literally Oc-
ham, the place of oaks, a title which it still well deserves.
Ockley, Acton, Acworth, and many more examples, might be
cited. Superstition, too, with its usual fertility of invention, has
not failed to detect the strange and marvellous in the oak. Of

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS. 75

this, did space permit, and were it not somewhat foreign to our
subject, we could quote many curious instances.

In the works of the ornamentist, to the best of our knowledge,
the Q. robur form of the oak has been exclusively used. To give
an extended list of the places where illustrations of its use in
design occur would be to devote far more space to it than is really
needful : as an example of its use in stonework, we would instance
a small, but good capital at Ely, where one pleasing, natural, and
ornamental feature, the empty cup of the acorn contrasting with
the other forms, is very well introduced. We see this same
attention to natural detail in some flowing foliage in a hollow
moulding at Henry VII/s Chapel, Westminster : the leaves are so
deeply cut into lobes, and so modified in form, that except for the
presence of the acorns, we should not recognise the foliage as
being that of the oak at all. A very clear and good piece of oak
is introduced in some wood-carvings at the ends of the stalls at
Wells Cathedral ; again, in crockets at Exeter, in the Lady
Chapel; in a stone boss, St. Cuthbert's screen, St. Alban's Abbey
Church ; in wooden spandrels at Winchester, and Northfleet
Church, Kent ; as a diaper in glass quarries at Fulbourne and
Waterbeach Churches, in Cambridgeshire ; and as a carving at
the arch-springing at Southwell Minster, Nottinghamshire. On
the Continent, in Burgos Cathedral, we meet with several exceed-
ingly beautiful carvings of the maple, plane, vine, and many other
plants — among them a square panel filled with oak, and a very
graceful running band of leaves and acorns round the tomb of
Don Juan II. ; and in Paris, in the Sainte Chapelle, we also find

76 ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

a hollow moulding filled with running oak foliage. In the South
Kensington Museum many excellent fragments of wood-carving
are preserved, and among these the oak is very often visible ;
while in the ceramic collection we frequently see the borders of
the Majolica dishes and plates entirely composed of interlaced
branches of oak. The oak is, in this latter series of examples,
of heraldic significance as the badge of the Dukes of Urbino.
Representations of the natural growth of the oak may be seen
in E. B. 1288; M. B. 126; P. F. 9; S. C. 151; G. O. 95;
T. N. O. 127.

Ox-eye Daisy [Chrysanthemum leucanthemuni). The impres-
sions we at once derive on seeing the natural plant are — first, the
size and brilliant star-like character of the flowers, as we view it
growing amidst the long grass ; secondly, the beautiful contrast
of form, colour, and light and shade between the deep yellow,
convex central portion and the brilliant white and concave rays
surrounding it ; and thirdly, the comparative smallness and insig-
nificance of the leaves : hence it appears to us that in any adapta-
tion of the plant to the purposes of the designer, these are salient
points to be observed. We find it growing very freely in mea-
dows, on the sunny side of railway banks, &c, and, where found
at all, generally in great profusion. During the past summer, by
the side of the river Wey, we came across a plant that had firmly
established itself, and was growing and flowering in full health
and vigour in the crown of a pollard willow tree, about eight feet
from the ground. It is one of the plants regarded by the farmer
with dislike, as it generally indicates great dryness ot soil, and,

from its abundance and the perennial nature of the root, can
scarcely be dislodged where it has once fairly taken possession.
The whole plant varies from one to two feet in height, blossoming
in June and July. The garden chrysanthemum is a Japanese
allied species, considerably modified by cultivation. It may be

Ox-eye Daisy.

seen painted on Japanese plates, screens, &c. So far as we are
aware, the ox-eye seems to have been but little used in ornamental
art, the following examples being the only cases of its occurrence
with which we are acquainted : — On a label termination to one of
the windows in the presbytery, Winchester, where we find the
flower in the centre of the boss very clearly and unmistakably

78 ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

rendered, but surrounded by the ordinary type of leaf of the Early
English Gothic period ; in some twelfth-century glass at Rheims,
where it is introduced as the flower dedicated to St. John, and
where, by a poetical symbolism, all the flowers turn towards our
Saviour on the cross, as the Sun of Righteousness, the true Light
of the world ; again met with in the celebrated MS., " The Hours
of Anne of Brittany," now in the Bibliotheque du Rot, Paris. This
illumination dates from the close of the fifteenth century, the
flowers introduced being very naturalistic in character, and with
their shadows thrown upon a golden ground — a marked charac-
teristic of the illumination of that time. It also occurs in a missal
in the Library of the Arsenal, Paris, where, .on a golden ground
similar to that last cited, detached flowers are scattered over the
borders — the pea, iris, heartsease, and many others being
represented, and among them the ox-eye daisy. Drawings of the
natural plant will be found in S. B. 158 ; E. B. 714 ; P. F. 42.

The Campion [Lychnis diurna) is another plant well adapted
to the need of the ornamentist, the form of the flower and the
sheathing of the stem by the pairs of leaves being valuable and
characteristic ornamental features. The Lych?tis diurna is to be
met with in moist hedge-banks, and more especially those that
are shaded by overhanging trees ; the flowers are of a delicate
pink, scentless, and opening in the early morning ; differing in all
these respects from the Lychnis vespertina, a very similar plant in
general appearance, but having the flowers white, with a slight
odour, and opening in the evening. The white campion has
generally a more robust and coarser character of growth than the

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS.

79

pink campion, and appears to delight in more open situations.
By many botanists, however, these two plants are considered as
closely allied, the pink campion being regarded as merely a
variety of the white, and both referred to as the Lychnis dioica.
The specific names, diurna and vesfiertiiia, refer to the times of
flowering, the morning and evening respectively ; while the
generic name, Lychnis, common to all the species, is derived from
the Greek word for lamps, the thick downy covering on the leaves
of the white campion having at one time been employed in the

Campion.

manufacture of wicks for use in lamps. Refer to F. L. vol. ii.
32; T.N. O.69; P.F.5'3.

Sorrel [Rumex acetosa). Though from its inconspicuous
character the sorrel may very readily be passed over, it will, we
think, be found to repay the attention of the ornamentist, since
the lightness and grace of its growth, its brilliant colour, and the
rich form of the leaf, are all characteristics that should render it
valuable to those engaged in decorative art. The leaves have a
pleasant acid flavour, and are occasionally employed in salads.

8o

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

The English name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon sury sour.
The present plant must not, from similarity of name, be confused
with the wood-sorrel [Oxalis acetosella\ as the two plants are very
different in appearance, the wood-sorrel having large white
flowers, and a beautiful trefoil character of leaf. Illustrations of

Sorrel.

the natural growth of R. acetosa may be seen in E. B. 1223 ; F. L.
vol. v. 29 ; M. B. 69.

The Spear-plume Thistle [Car dims lanceolatus) has been
selected as the subject of our next example. It may very com-
monly be met with in hedge-banks and waste ground, attaining to
a height of from three to four feet, and forming a very ornamental
and conspicuous object. Its employment in heraldry with the
motto nemo me impune lacessit, as the badge of Scotland, is so
well known that the mere mention of the fact will suffice to recall
it to the memory of our readers ; but this application of it, and
its frequent recurrence in all circumstances where the national
emblems are introduced, render it necessary that the designer
should be familiar with the plant he will thus have to treat.

THE ADAPTABILITY OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS.

81

There are several indigenous species of thistle, some one or two of
them laying claim to their right to be considered the true Scottish
badge, but the balance of evidence will, we think, be found to point
to the spear-plume thistle as that most entitled to the honour.
The C. fnarzanus, or milk-thistle, one of our rarer native, or at
least naturalised species, has a particularly ornamental effect
from the veins upon the leaves being of a clear milky white, the

Thistle.

rest of the leaf being of the normal green colour. A drawing of
the spear-plume thistle may be seen in E. B. 686.

The Thorn-apple, though not a common wild plant, may
occasionally be met with, growing on waste spots, rubbish heaps
by the roadside, and similar places. The large size and brilliant
whiteness of the flowers, the bulk and peculiar character of
the spiny fruit, make it a very striking object, and admirably
fitted for a share of the ornamentist's regard. It is a plant of
Eastern origin, and was unknown here until the reign of
Elizabeth ; we therefore do not find it in any of the art-work
before that date, nor, indeed, do we remember to have ever seen it

M

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

in any way introduced in later designs : this, no doubt, is partly
owing to the comparative rarity of the plant. Its scientific name
is Datura stramonium, the generic name being derived from
fatorahy the name of the plant in Arabic. The whole plant

Thorn-apple.

is powerfully narcotic in its effects. In the quaint pages ol
Gerarde, published a.d. 1636, we learn the history of its intro-
duction into England. Gerarde was the director of the botanical
garden of Lord Burleigh ; hence he received many rare plants
from abroad for cultivation. In speaking of the Datura, he says,

" whose seeds I have received of the Right Honourable the Lord
Edward Zouch, which he brought from Constantinople, and of his
liberalise did bestow them vpon me ; and it is that thorn-apple
that I have disposed through this land." In some botanical works
we find it asserted that the thorn-apple was introduced into
Europe in the Middle Ages by the gypsies, who, in their
wanderings, brought it from Asia ; but the declaration of Gerarde
is so positive and explicit, that it seems difficult to admit any
other belief, more especially as he accompanies his statement by
an illustration which, though very rough and quaint, is quite
sufficiently like the natural plant to prove that it was not some
other species introduced by him and wrongly named. Drawings
of the thorn-apple may be consulted in E. B. 935 ; F. L. vol. vi.
17 ; M. B. 124; S. C. 6; P. F. 13.

The Tormentil [Potentilla tormentilla) has already, to some
extent, been referred to when speaking of an allied species,
the cinquefoil. The flowers, though typically composed of four
petals, are frequently to be found with the petals five in number,
the calyx in that case being cleft into ten segments instead
of the normal arrangement. We are not acquainted with any
example of the use of the tormentil in ornament, but the wood-
strawberry [Fragaria vesca), an allied genus of the same natural
order, has a similar form of calyx, the segments being alternately
large and small, and twice as numerous as the petals ; and this
beautiful ornamental feature is very carefully shown in a six-
teenth-century MS. at the British Museum, where the plant is
introduced in one of the borders. Consult E. B. 430 ; F. L.

vol. v. 35 ; or P. F. 94, for illustrations of the natural growth
of the tormentil.

Our remaining illustration has been suggested by the Water
Crowfoot [Ranunculus aquatilis\ one of the numerous species
of buttercups, but distinguished from its allies by the petals
of the flowers being white, not yellow, as in the case of the
other members of the family, and also from the habitat of the
plant, the blossoms being found floating upon the surface of
quiet water-courses. The crowfoot may be met with in flower
throughout the summer, and, where seen at all, is ordinarily very
abundant, so that at a little distance the whole surface of a large
pond will tell upon the eye as a mass of white, from the innu-
merable blossoms thickly scattered over the water. The English
name crowfoot has arisen, like many similar names, from the
supposed resemblance of the plant, or some portion of it, to
some other natural object ; thus we get crane's-bill, cock's-foot
grass, lark's-spur, bee-orchis, pheasant's-eye, and many other
such examples among our common names for plants. As a
family, the buttercups must be regarded with suspicion on account
of their strongly developed acrid qualities ; thus the leaves of
the R.flammula, if applied to the skin, will, in a very short
time, cause large and painful blisters. The R. acris is equally
poisonous ; and the R. arvensts, or corn crowfoot, is extremely
injurious to cattle and sheep. The R. aquatilis does not possess
these dangerous qualities ; on the contrary, it may be collected
and given as fodder in times of scarcity or drought, and the
animals will not only eat it, but thrive upon it. It is a very

widely spread species : the placid waters of regions so different
from each other in climate as Lapland and Abyssinia are equally
favourable to its growth, and the lakes and slowly running
streams of California are powdered over with its brilliant blos-

Water Crowfoot.

soms, as we see them in our English pools. The water crow-
foot affords us also a beautiful example of that adaptability of
form to the circumstances of the plant's existence which we may
so frequently trace in the works of nature. It will be noticed
in the illustration that two very distinct forms of leaf are re-

presented ; and, on examining the natural plant, it will be found
that the simpler form of leaf floats upon the surface of the water,
while the lower and more minutely divided leaves are submerged.
Imagine the respective positions of these leaves reversed, and
it would speedily be apparent that the finely cut leaves were
unable to support the blossoms, and to expose them to the
vivifying rays of the sun, while the simpler form of leaf would,
by the action of the water, speedily be torn into long shreds,
the principal veins alone remaining, and very much resembling
the actual form that we meet with in the case of the submerged
leaves. In employing the water crowfoot in. ornamental art,
it appears to us that the two great features most highly cha-
racteristic of it, and therefore to be embodied in a design, are,
first, the number of its blossoms ; and, secondly, the two distinct
kinds of leaf; the simpler form being the most prominent, but
the other, though subordinate, as in the case of the natural
plant, to be indicated, and its presence felt. The R. bulbosus is
the species so frequently met with in the carvings of the Deco-
rated period of Gothic art, an especially beautiful example of
its use being seen in a capital in the doorway in the Chapter-
house at Southwell Minster, Notts. The R. aquatilis, so far as
we have had opportunity of observation, appears to have been
entirely overlooked. Illustrations of the water crowfoot will
be met with in V. W. 95 ; E. B. 18.

Having thus briefly indicated some few points of interest
in the foregoing British plants, we draw our remarks to a close ;
it must not, however, be supposed that all the material at our

disposal was exhausted. We fear rather to weary the reader than
to exhaust the stores which nature affords ; hence we limit our
remarks to fifty plants, leaving many equally valuable ones
untouched ; such plants as the bird's-foot trefoil, chicory, cowslip,
forget-me-not, meadow vetchling, silver-weed, and stork's-bill,
being fully as well adapted to the various purposes of ornamental
art as those we have, in the body of our text, referred to ; in fact,
the whole of those just mentioned were, together with many more,
indexed as a portion of our plan, and were only cut out when it
was found that a catalogue thus amplified would stretch to an
inordinate length. Though we have, in the course of our remarks
on each plant, been careful to indicate to our readers the books he
should consult for illustrations of the natural growth of the flower
in question, we cannot conclude without again strongly advising
the designer, wherever it is at all practicable, to go direct to
nature, as a series of sketches of even the roughest character has
an ornamental value and variety which are not always found
in book-illustrations, and, moreover, the knowledge of the plant
acquired in actually delineating it is worth far more than any
study of the written descriptions of others. These sketches
should of course be made when the plant is available, and not
left till an emergency arises, and when, very possibly, the plant, if
found at all, may not be in satisfactory condition for ornamental
work. Whenever, therefore, a plant possessing valuable pro-
perties for decorative work is met with, a drawing of the general
growth and enlarged details of its more artistically valuable parts
should be made and stored up for future use. A designer cannot

88 ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

have too many such reserves of material, though he may very
easily have too few. Those who have never fairly searched may,
however, be under the impression that but little practical good
could come of any such seeking, as, for want of experience, they
unknowingly underrate the wealth that, at the expense of a short
railway journey into the country, is theirs for the gathering. To
test this we set out one day in June, and the result of a stroll of
barely two and a half hours was conclusive on this point. In
addition to many plants in seed, or which, from their foliage,
were worthy of introduction into art-work, no less than seventy-
four were met with in flower; many of these, as the dog-rose,
blackberry, white bryony, comfrey, mallow, hawthorn, and silver-
weed, being excellent for carving ; while the bladder cam-
pion, forget-me-not, meadow cranesbill, ground-ivy, meadow
vetchling, cinquefoil, oxalis, and honeysuckle, would be valuable
for lighter work — muslins, papers, or lace. We cannot doubt
that the interest thus evolved from a direct study of nature
would be a growing one ; that not only would the actual result
in art-work be the better for it, but also that the enjoyment
derived from the study would be such as to render the pursuit
one of far more interest than those who have not yet expe-
rienced it can realise.

" Happy is he who lives to understand,
Not human nature only, but explores
All natures — to the end that he may find
The law that governs each ; and where begins
The union, the partition where, that makes
Kind and degree, among all visible beings ;

The constitutions, powers, and faculties,

Which they inherit — cannot step beyond,

And cannot fall beneath ; that do assign

To every class its station and its office,

Through all the mighty-commonwealth of things ;

Up from the creeping plant to sovereign man.

Such converse, if directed by a meek,

Sincere, and humble spirit, teaches love :

For knowledge is delight ; and such delight

Breeds love ; yet, suited as it rather is

For thought and to the climbing intellect,

It teaches less to love than to adore :

If that be not indeed the highest love."

Wordsworth.

N

II.

SEA- WEEDS AS OBJECTS OF DESIGN.

By S. J. MACKIE, F.G.S., F.S.A.

SEA-WEEDS AS OBJECTS OF DESIGN.

I.

|S in the world of human life, so in the world of nature —
from the humblest and meekest the greatest lessons
may be learned; and there is often as much worthy of
admiration and study in the neglected as in the known and
appreciated. The pure metal lies not on the surface, but the gold
is extracted from the solid rock, or picked up, after much labour,
among the common sands ; and many things lie out of the beaten
path from which the artist and the student might gather fresh
fancies. Twice a day rises and falls the great tide of ocean, and
its heavings were not less constant when the trilobite and astro-
lepis were inhabitants of primordial depths ; still twice a day it
ebbs and flows, and the stony mountains have treasured the
fragments of the weeds it plucked from pre-Adamic shores in
memory of its ancient toil.

Bright are the flowers of the earth, the first and choicest of
ornaments. Pure, simple, and holy, their charms can never decay,
though familiarity and inconsistency may vulgarise, and innu-
merable misappropriations make us sometimes wish for the con-
trasts that other less showy objects would afford. "While the fields

94 ART- STUDIES FROM NATURE.

are radiant with their beauty, and the gentle zephyrs fragrant with
their scented odours, the great tide ebbs and flows over the
flowerless plants of the sea. Around the huge rocks the perennial
fringes of olive fuci undulate in graceful folds among the swelling
waves, and the tall tangle bows its pliant stem as

" The ocean old, —
Centuries old, —

Strong as youth, and as uncontrolled,
Paces restless to and fro,
Up and down the sands of gold."

For ages have the weeds of the sea been heedlessly disregarded
or despised. The vilest epithet the polished Roman knew was
alga firojecta vilior. Horace, too, wrote alga inutilis ; and there
may yet be many to exclaim with the Scotch professor of the last
century, " Pooh, pooh, sir ! only a bundle of sea-weeds ! ': But
when the apostle Peter slept at the house of Simon the tanner he
dreamt a great dream — a dream memorable to the end of time —
a dream that was a waking truth to be set in golden letters, and
engraven on the hearts of rich and poor, wise and unwise —
" There is nothing common nor unclean. "

The Chinese believe there is one word expressive of all excel-
lence, so exquisite that no one can pronounce it, although it can
be written and perceived by the eyes. That word is stamped
alike on " the vile sea-weed " and on the lovely flower. I do not
claim for both an equal rank, — the cottage may be charming, and
not vie with the palace ; and " the pride of the village " may want
the grace of " the ladye of high degree/' — but I do claim for the

SEA-WEEDS. 95

neglected vegetation of the seaside an elegance of form and
structure, a suggestiveness of mathematical designs, a poetry of
association and typical expression, a simplicity and modest
gracefulness, which will entitle it to the best consideration of the
designer.

World-wide in distribution, the sea-weeds are accessible to
every one ; and it is not the rarest that are, for ornamental pur-
poses, the most valuable. The beauty of a manuscript tempted
England's greatest monarch to the acquirement of letters, and the
commonest weed may be the incentive to the perusal of one of
Nature's choicest books. Wherever the briny waters wash the
coasts, in marshes even where the salt sea penetrates but seldom
in the year, on rocks and stones, and piers and piles, winter or
summer, from the land of gold to the Canaries, from the soil of
the Hottentot and Caffre to the ice-bound country of the Lapp,
from the floating meadows of the tropics to the snowy regions of
the poles — there grow the crisp sea- weeds — there may be gathered
in endless variety the chastest patterns of simplicity. All the
associations of the sea are grand and glorious, and the goddess of
beauty came from the foam of its waves. In the sublime language
of ancient mythology, the Ocean was the first-born of Heaven and
Earth, that was wedded to the child of the land and the sky.
Are there no gems of classic imagery in the bronzed belt that
girdles its giant form ? Have the thousand daughters of Atlas
and Tethys all taken to groves and cities, and have the Nereides
become the attendants of Flora ? Are the tears of Calypso and
the loves of Amphitrite forgotten ? Has the memory of Sappho

96 ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

passed for ever away, and have the green and olive nurslings of
the surge no affinity with the crystal phoenix that arose from their
ashes in the Phoenicians' fire ?

There is a point whence life and vegetation seem to diverge —
the simple cell ; where the algse meet the monads, and most
mysterious processes "and elaborations are carried on by means
the simplest but most astounding. Of cell upon cell are the sea-
weeds built, and by cells or spores cast loose from their substance
are their species reproduced, as certainly and as surely as plants
by the marriage of the flowers. Of cellular tissue entirely does
the sea-weed consist ; of cell upon cell alone is woven all the
varied drapery of the deep. A mere sac, empty, or containing a
fluid or granular substance, absorbs the surrounding fluids, assi-
milates them in its membranous walls, consolidates their carbon
and nutritious substances, grows, divides, each portion swells
again to its parent size, each again divides, and so the splitting
cells increase and multiply. The rapidity with which some of
the common confervae of our ponds are thus developed is well
known ; and it is not unusual to find loathsome pools, that were
black at dawn with decomposing filth, covered at eve with a
floating verdure rapidly and energetically extracting its nutriment
out of the pollution, and liberating the gas of animal life — oxygen
— into the atmosphere, in lieu of pestilential effluvia. The snow-
plant, the Protococcus nivalis, is perhaps the best-known instance
of the rapid development of cell-plants properly so called. In a
few hours whole tracts of the white snow of northern lands will
assume the hue of the battle-field ; and from another species

SEA-WEEDS. 97

the waters of the Arabian Gulf have acquired their memorable
name of Red Sea.

Above the limits of the lichen incrusting the peaks of moun-
tains, and in the unplumbed abysses of the deep below the region
of the nullipore, there the cell-plants swarm by myriads ; and
even the air powders the ropes of ships at sea with the atomic
dust that had vegetated among the clouds.

I have claimed for the sea-weeds the attractions of simplicity,
and I claim beauty of outlines and gracefulness of forms even
for the simplest of the simple — the cell-plants. Forms ! outlines
of cell-plants ! Would not a single species content the naturalist ?
The ever-varying Hand that is traced in all around has touched
these lowly objects with charms and wonders in the most ex-
quisite modifications of form and the most delicate sculpture.
The invisible is not the less beautiful that it is unseen ; the
physician owes much to these little things — why not the artist ?
Are there no laws of symmetry in natural objects, as there are of
mechanics and of force ? no sympathetic principles of harmony of
colour with form, as of structure with locomotion or fixity ? Even
in these humble plants there are traces of that divine delicacy
which may be observed and appreciated — an expression of that
one word which cannot be spoken.

For the present attention is confined to those forms of
algae which exhibit the second stage in the development of
vegetation — the linking of these cells, or cell-plants, together,
which is naturally effected by their self-division and growth,
without actual separation of the parts. And here the transitions

O

98 AR T- STUDIES FROM NA TURK.

exhibit those almost insensible gradations which have led some
powerful minds to view the highest structures, and even intel-
lectual man, as the consummation only of previous states and
changes. But whatever ideas may be entertained of the manner
by which the creative energy has worked, the results and the
power, the ends and the means, are alike astounding, whether the
monad or the cell were elaborated into the animal or the plant,
or both were produced by a thought to fulfil their purposes in the
economy of life. The globular membranous sacs or cells divide
in a linear direction, and a string of the tiniest beads results. In
the cylindrical cell — for the forms of the cells are in themselves
various, both naturally as well as by the exercise of mutual
pressure and other influences — a transverse partition is formed;
the two ends are produced ; in each of these again the same
process is repeated, and a thread-like species is formed. Other
globules adhere side by side, developing the membranous expan-
sions of cellular tissue, in which we recognise the first appear-
ance of the leaf. In the clinging together of the cylindrical
fibres we perceive likewise the first rudiments of the branch and
stem : in such cases, when the elongated cells of the fibres are of
an unequal length, a continuous stem or cord is produced, varied
only as it is enlarged or swollen by the methodical aggregation of
greater numbers, or tapering by the prolongation of the central
threads beyond the rest, or by the less robust condition of the
young cells.

If the cell-cylinders are of equal length, nodes and intern odes,
like the joints of a reed, are produced ; and by the bifurcation of

the cells of the extremities branching fronds and ramuli result.
Thus by this cell-splitting are formed the delicate branching
forms of the rhodosperms (red sea-weeds), the paper-like mem-
branous expansions of the ulvaceae, the jagged fronds of the fuci,
and the stout trunk of the gigantic lessonia. Thus the progress
of the general plan, from the conception within the ovule, is
traced, species by species, and genus by genus, until we pass
ashore with the zostera and a few other similar borderers, and
ascend through the mosses, ferns, and grasses, to the flowering
plants and trees, and reach the summit of the second organic
kingdom, where mind alone seems wanting to complete the
conditions of life. Indeed, were it not for the perfection of all
things around us, we might regard the formation of beautiful
flowers and massive trees as arising from an imperfection —
namely, the incomplete separation of the primitive cells in their
self-division — and that Nature had turned the hint to most ad-
mirable and wonderful account, that she had improved upon it,
and not only joined firmly together the sides of the connected
cells, but in many of the thread-like species had enclosed them, for
their better protection from disjunction, in gelatinous or mucous
cylindrical sheaths, which may be fancifully, if not really, regarded
as the first symptoms of the cuticle or bark. Most of the filiform
algals are fresh water, but many of them are marine ; and among
the tufts of confervas in brackish pools, or the floating scum on the
surface of polluted water, along the muddy sides of ditches, as
well as coating damp rocks and spray-splashed cliffs, upon
decaying heaps of sea-wrack, on floating planks drifting ashore

100

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

Oscillatoria niero-viridis.

CspxF*

in fleecy masses, or bearding with silky hairs the fronds of the
sea-weeds themselves, we shall find abundant illustrations of
such primitive types for our present purpose — that of slightly
tracing some of the variations and adaptations of particular parts

and organs by which Nature effects the
beautification of the objects themselves.
Nor as we regard these objects under
the microscope — for it will require the high powers of that in-
strument to develop their minute structure — can we avoid being
struck with the elegance of the twistings and contortions, the
lacings and interlacings, of even the most simple threads, as they

congregate and combine to form those
dense masses, velvety tufts, or hazy
films by which their myriads are made
evident to the human eye. The de-
velopment of certain cells into spores,
and the wonderful generative processes by which the algse are
propagated, belong, however interesting, more to the domains of
natural history than to our present inquiry. Suffice it to say that,
by the impregnation of the endochrome of one cell by that of

^ another, the spores — or seeds, as for
expressiveness they may here be termed
Cahthrix semipiena. — are produced by the granulation of

the mixed matter. Now, in the different aspects and conditions of
these spore-cells arises that first divergence from the mere thread
of beads by which Nature, while she retains the principle and
object of the organ itself in its adaptation to special conditions,

Oscillatoria spiralis.

seems to vary in every possible manner and way, not only in form
and sculpture, but often in colour, her most primitive organiza-
tions. Even the contraction of the endochrome itself, in the
granulating process, by the production of intermittent vacant
spaces, adds a pleasing variation to many of these moniliform
filaments.

In some species of this class the continuity of the congregated

Sphcerozyga Berkeleyana.

Spermosira Harveyana.

cells is interrupted, besides by the spore cells, by a connecting
cell, or heterocyst, differing in form from either, and not unusually
of an entirely opposite and contrasting colour. Such is the case
with the Spermosira Harveyanay a very minute species of nostoc,

Sphcerozyga Carmichaelii .

Sphcerozyga Thwaitesii.

found on dead leaves in the summer month of June. The
rudimentary cells of its exquisite curved filaments are small
cylinders, the spore capsules completely spherical, and the
heterocysts subquadrate, inclining to oval. The colours vary
in each, and are in the first of a translucent bluish green, — of

io2 ART- STUDIES FROM NA TURF.

course, therefore, the prevailing hue, — which is charmingly re-
lieved by the deep brown of the second and the pale pink of
the last.

These constitutional forms, in their varieties and adaptations,
their manner of growth and development, constitute the entire
structure of the whole tribe of sea-weeds ; and therefore we
ought to find the chief features of any elegance these humble
forms possess continued and elaborated, as they really are, in
the more complex conditions of the higher fuci. In the sections
of the sea- weeds, therefore, even as made for the scientific eluci-
dation of their structure, we may expect to find, as we undoubtedly
shall do, many hints and lessons.

The true form of the cell is perhaps the globe, but it is more
commonly presented to us as the cylinder, the conditions and
outlines of which are varied almost ad infinitum, as by the various
effects of growth and pressure the cells are forced into hexagons,
pentagons, and other mathematical shapes, or their lines of
junction are disposed in undulating tracery of
the most elegant and intricate patterns.

Of the few sections we have engraved as
illustrations, the first is that of a pretty knotted
sea-weed, rather rare, but still not uncommon on
tectum ofaArthro- tne southern coasts of our island in the summer

cladia villosa. - . ,, A .-, 7 7> -7J

and autumn seasons — the Armrocladta viuosa.
Around the tubular axis the larger rings are disposed, — to which
circle upon circle of the smaller succeed to the verge of the
periphery, yielding to the forms of the intermediate cavities in

SEA- WEEDS.

103

numerous appropriate shapes. In the second we have given a
cross section of the compressed frond of the Desmarestia ligulafa,
an inhabitant of the tidal pools at extreme low water on most
parts of our coasts. An internal jointed tube passes up the centre
of the frond, and gives rise to the obscure midrib perceptible on
the surfaces of the sides ; on either
side the larger cells are disposed
in two opposing flat arcs, and

Compressed into shapes more Or Magnified Trans^Tsection of Frond of

1 1 , i • 1 r 1 • 1 Desmarestia I int. I at a.

less hexagonal, outside 01 which, 6

in the second row, the pentagonal form prevails, and then the
intermediate exterior and interior spaces are filled by smaller
cellules of more irregular outlines.

The third section is made across one of the spore-bearing
receptacles which tip — as yellow
warty excrescences — the flat olive
fronds of the common bladder-
weed, Fuctis vesictilosus, so com-
mon in dense meadows everywhere
on our shores. The interior, filled

With muCUS, is traversed by a Magnified Transverse Section of Spore-
bearing Receptacle of Fucus vesiculosus.

network of jointed fibres, which

communicate with the spherical conceptacles immersed in the
outer substance, and containing the spores and the antheridia.
That there are other and many sections far more intricate
and beautiful any one can testify who has ever turned over
the fine plates of Professor Harvey's " Phycologia Britannica,"

io4 ART- STUDIES FROM NATURE.

his admirable papers in the publications of the Smithsonian
Society, or the noble folio volume of Postel and Ruprecht ;
but in these simple ones here given — and selected on that very
account — we find Nature contriving elegant and pleasing devices
by the mere repetition and combination of the circle, the hexagon,
or the pentagon, and producing by such means a pleasing unity
and richness of effect instead of a sameness or a poverty. At
any rate, whenever Nature does produce a beautiful object, we
shall never be the worse for examining the principles by which
she has worked, and it is in the least complicated that we must
first hope to find the rudimentary laws of her beauty-building.
With rule and compass we can excel her in accuracy — with
reason, experience, and remembrance, we can improve upon her
labours in our artificial productions ; but, notwithstanding the
many exquisite objects of art produced by our modern jewellers,
there is by far too much conventionality and routine in the more
ordinary bijouterie of every-day wear ; and we might from such
sections alone acquire many novelties in the setting of gems,
pearls, and pebbles, as well as gain many advantages over the
arbitrary whims of an unguided, although it may be a cultivated,
mind. Not only might the real be thus improved by adopting the
mathematical solids or traceries thus suggested, but there are
numerous articles of mock jewellery in which shells, fictitious
agates, and inferior cameos are largely used, the designers for
which might be advantageously employed for a season by the
seaside, where their eyes would become accustomed to the sober
olive of the weeds ; and it might then be found that a bronze setting

SEA-WEEDS. io 5

would not only be more truthful, but more useful and chaste, than
a hypocritical gilt surface, that reveals at every touch the baser
metal beneath. And here, with these few words of explanation
and suggestion, for the present let me leave this unworked vein
— merely adding that the longitudinal sections are as fanciful as
the transverse, and in viewing the latter we may oftentimes
imagine we are examining fairy ribands and laces of the most
delicate texture.

But however complicated the combinations of the cellular and
vascular tissues become as we ascend in the scale of creation, the
development of forms and tints in every natural object is as
dependent upon fixed laws as the beauty and colouring of a
picture on the skill and innate genius of the artist. Few artists,
however, if any, work by rule ; in their studies they attain
instinctively, as it were, a conceptive knowledge of the beautiful ;
they find Nature ever varying, and they find variety the source of
beauty ; they find that an object composed of lines contrasts
pleasantly with circles ; that the upraised hands of a speaker
should be- opposed by the folded arms of the listeners — the
energetic by the prostrate ; and so they go on, acquiring a science
by perception, of which the more ethereal portion has never yet
been reduced to written rules, and is so subtle that perhaps it
never will be. That designers work more usually by their innate
taste and their manual skill is evinced by the many elegant ab-
surdities that one constantly meets.

And now I would arrest the first objection that could be raised
against the sea- weeds as objects of design — their inapplicability on

p

io6 ART- STUDIES FROM NATURE.

the ground ot appropriateness. There is an appropriateness, the
world will say, about flowers ; they have a language of their own,
in which they speak the rarest poetry ; the saints of all the days
of the year have their dedications of these gems of the fields ; the
nymphs of the forest and dell, the Naiades and mythological
celestials without end have patronised them ; besides, it is so
natural to paper our walls with roses, to have garlands woven in
our dresses ; and our maidens only deck their hair with the
artificial because the real will fade. "What more proper than
a plate of leaves for fruit, or a decanter ornamented with grapes ?
True ; but what more absurd than a vase of cabbage-leaves
supported on the flourishing tails of twisted dolphins ; or a jug
composed of a gigantic head, from which we pour the contents
through the perforated body of a swan, with its neck immersed in
a sturdy flag, and of such reversed proportions and of such
diminutive size that a whole flock might roost in the interior of
an eggy without any of them experiencing that unpleasant incon-
venience which nursery rhymes attribute to the old lady who lived
in the shoe ? These are broad absurdities, although the objects
themselves may be elegant and of costly ware : thus showing
at once that the grace of natural objects is dependent upon the
laws of mathematical form, for there is nothing in the subjects we
have noticed to interest — no hidden allusion — and all that is
pleasing arises from the lines of contour. But there are more
subtle misapplications, which ordinarily escape detection. Is it
quite correct to bind the tendrils of the vine round the unpre-
tending jugs which are dedicated to the pure fluid of the

SEA-WEEDS.

107

teetotaler, or those that are
charged with foaming ale ? to
defend our butter with a belt of
hissing snakes, or pass jets of
sweet water through fountains of
gigantic cockle-shells and marine
monsters ? And yet many of these
things we constantly forgive; then
surely we might extend some of
that mercy, if they required it, to
the sea-weeds, which we do not
withhold from reptiles, especially
if it can be shown that they are
available for more artistic pur-
poses than for pretty picture-
making in albums and herbaria,
or for fancy baskets, with a hack-
neyed apologetic legend, in ba-
zaars.

It cannot be expected that the
designer should carry on the
laborious researches of the man
of science, or make the delicate
sections which the naturalist finds
necessary for the determination
of species and the comprehension
of the phenomena of structure

Ulva iinza.

io8 ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

and vitality ; that he should have one eye for the microscope, and
the other for his pencil ; nor that the philosopher should have all
the accomplishments of the artist ; but as the boundless universe
is dependent upon everything, that exists for its unity and
harmony, so art cannot neglect even natural sciences with
impunity, for, at least, every branch is capable of adding an
expression or a charm. Pardon, therefore, the simple belief that
even the rudiments of vegetable structure and the section of a
sea-weed or a plant are not unworthy of inspection for artistic
purposes, and that they may suggest, if not actually exhibit, exqui-

Fucus nodosus.

site combinations of mathematical figures which are not inappro-
priate decorative ornaments for most varied purposes.

Along high-water mark, as high as the spray bedews the
rugged beds of stone, grow the green confervae ; within the tidal
zone is the territory of the olive fuci ; and the deep is the home
of the red weeds, sometimes to be found at dead low water,
and even higher on the shore, in like manner as algae of vivid
green are traced to depths of thirty, forty, and even fifty
fathoms ; for although the rules hold generally good, there
are exceptions — as it is said there must be to all rules, to

SEA- WE EDS.

109

Jilt

prevent their becoming axioms. Such, too, of olive, red, and
green, is the artificial arrangement by which % botanists have
classified the algse, the colours and -.

characters being sufficiently associ-
ated and distinctive for even scientific
grouping.

Having glanced already at the
species of lowest organization, let us
take one other instance of the applica-
bility of sea-weeds as objects of design.
A dozen collected at random, in one's
walk from the edge of the beach to
the rim of the tide, would more than
suffice for many different applications
and manufactures ; and the very com-
monest are equally valuable, and often
better than the rarest. Take, then,
the first handful you can collect.
Among the gatherings of such a par-
cel are sure to be found some very
applicable forms, such as the Ulva
linza> representated at page 107 ; the
Fucus nodosus, page 108 ; the Fucus
vesiculosusy page 103 ; the Fucus ser-
ratus, here given ; Halidrys siliquosa,
page no; Dictyota dichotoma ; Laminar ia Phyllitis ; L. digitata ;
L. saccharina, &c.

Fucus serratus.

I 10

ART- STUDIES FROM NATURE.

It is not in the herbarium, not in drawings, not when dried and

shrivelled, and black and contorted,
that we can see the beauty of sea-
weeds ;' such are no more than the
bleared and withered mummies of
Egyptian men to the fresh vigour of
youth : it is while free and waving in
the waters that we must search for the
best elucidations of their habits and
gracefulness. Years ago Ray wrote in
his earnest and noble manner ; — " Let
us then consider the works of God, and
observe the operations of his hands.
Let us take notice of, and admire, his
infinite wisdom and goodness in the
formation of them : no creature in this
sublunary world is capable of so doing
besides man, and yet we are deficient
herein : we content ourselves with the
knowledge of the tongues, or a little
skill in philology, or history perhaps,
and antiquity, and neglect that which
to me seems more material — I mean
natural history, and the works of crea-

Halidrys siliquosa. ^^ j do nQt discommend or derogate

from those other studies ; I should betray mine own ignorance
and weakness should I do so : I only wish that this might be

brought into fashion among us. I wish men would be so equal
and civil as not to disparage, deride, and villify those studies
which themselves skill not of, or are not conversant in ; no
knowledge can be more pleasant than this, none that doth so
satisfie and feed the soul, in comparison whereto that of words and
phrases seem to me insipid and jejune." How he would have
rejoiced at the popular movement introduced by Mr. Mitchell at the
Zoological Gardens, and since so powerfully backed up by other
colossal vivaria of the day; the aquaria at the Crystal Palace,
Brighton, Ramsgate, and other places ; and what results would
he not have predicted when, in walking through the mammon-
tainted streets of our great metropolis, he passed dozens of shops
for the sale of aquaria, vivaria, glass jars, siphons, prawns,
mussels, anemones, efts, and sticklebacks ! All these and many
more living things cannot be kept and nourished, watched and
fed, without the spread of that knowledge which is known, and
the acquirement of a vast deal that is new. Naturalists will
no longer be able to write books on things they have never seen ;
and hasty jumpings to conclusions, and closet speculations, will
be rarer as the chance of detection becomes the greater, and the
spirit in which all true men of science do labour, and ever have
done, is the more rightly appreciated. The Merry Monarch's
little spaniel has its collar of red morocco, with its silver plate,
and the imprisoned songster of a warmer clime is confined in
a pretty cage. The love of natural history is not the cherished
taste of the poor — it is not bounded by the circumscribed limits of
the middle ranks, who find in a glass jar of living objects from the

i 1 2 ART-STUDIES FROM NA TURE.

pond or sea a refreshing pastime from the heavy cares of daily
bread, and a cooling relief from toil, or the feverish anxieties of
money-making ; but the love of natural history lives no less in
high places and delicate minds, whose susceptibilities have been
heightened by every kind of culture, gaze with delight on the
glittering armour of the scaly fish, and watch with interest
the actions, motions, and habits of the thousand instructive
objects to be collected at any time in a single tide. How
charming to give a little elegance to the transparent homes
to which we consign our new-made pets ! We no longer confine
ourselves to cheap glass and zinc fountains. White marble
and bronze have brought our favourites into the boudoir and the
drawing-room. Look at the festoons of fuci on the rugged rocks :
have not worse things been chiselled and cast r and at that
tall bundle of crisp Laminaria Phyllitis, as it stands erect in
the transparent water. How charmingly a crystal vase would
rest upon its slightly diverging crests, like the abacus on the
leaves of a Corinthian pillar! how delicate the slight frillings
of the margins of its translucent fronds !

Various other applications are at once suggested by the little
group we have figured ; such are mouldings, beadings, tracery,
and cornices, and for the sculpture of mahogany and other dark
woods ; and in our progress through the more elaborate forms of
sea-weeds we shall find very much to admire as elegant, and
as applicable to manufactures and to the ornamentation of various
objects — often of opposite purposes.

SEA- WEEDS. II3

II.

As one coming in a strange land for the first time, on a
junction of many roads, finds himself bewildered, and hesi-
tating in his choice which to take, being ignorant which
leads to the fairest places, and not knowing what beauties he
may miss by selecting the one or the other, so in displaying the
attractions of sea-weeds for artistic purposes — a field where so
little has been attempted — it is not easy to decide, where so many
courses appear to be open. It is not the difficulty of a beginning,
for the start has been made ; nor of the end, for a precipitate
retreat has happened to more than one illustrious character; and if
these pages could prove as entertaining as the immortal Sam's
valentine, even " a sudden pull up " might only make the reader
"wish there was more." But the difficulty is in adopting that
order of narration which shall be most attractive in securing
for the neglected sear weeds their due meed of recognition and
reward.

In the former chapter are figured some of those prevalent
species which no one could fail to find in a walk along the shore :
in this, which is devoted to the olive weeds or true fuci, the
illustrations are drawn chiefly from among others of those
common forms which are accessible to everybody, about which
there are no considerations of rarity, pains, or price, and
which indeed are always to be had for the trouble of picking
them up.

Q

1 14 ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

These Mclanosperms are characterized by naturalists as plants
of an olive green or brown colour, and as being in their fructifi-
cation either monoecious or dioecious, that is, having the dis-
tinctive organs on the same or on different plants. They are
propagated by spores, either developed externally, or singly, or
in groups in proper conceptacles, each spore being enveloped in
a pellucid skin called a perispore, and being in some cases
simple, and in others ultimately dividing into two, four, or eight
sporules. Antheridia — a term admitted as indicative only, and
by courtesy in the case of algae, the actual propriety of the term
being still contested — appear in some ; in others are transparent
cells filled with orange-coloured vivacious corpuscles, possessed
of free motion by means of vibratile cilia. The whole group is
marine. If any take objection to the word " plants," the botanist
will tell them that algae have a double respiration, like their
higher sisters of the land, — that by day they absorb carbonic-acid
gas, and give out the life-supporting oxygen, and that in the
silent hours of the night they reverse the process, and emit
carbonic-acid gas.

To point out their relations and corcordances with terrestrial
vegetation is, however, a very easy task ; but not so is it to draw
the line between animality and vegetation. Some authors, indeed,
and those not despicable ones, have gone so far as to assert that
the germs of some sea-weeds, in their first condition, are actually
endowed with life. Be this as it may, no line has yet been drawn
which separates either distinctly or decisively the animal from
the plant ; and, as Dr. Lindley truly observes, " whatever errors

SEA- WEEDS. ii

of observation may have occurred, those very errors, to say
nothing of the true ones, show the extreme difficulty, not to
say impossibility, of pointing out the exact frontier of either
kingdom." We commence our present division — and shall
follow the like course with the others — with its higher forms,
and, proceeding in descending order, shall in each conclude
with those humble rudimentary forms in which the rigid
divisions of classification are obliterated, and the only dif-
ferences which can be assigned are, at best, but little more than
arbitrary.

To me how welcome and how dear are the olive algals of
the rocky shores ! Born within sound of the surging waves, for
ever singing "their unrhymed lyric lays" — from infancy to
manhood living on the margin of the briny deep — how fresh
and dear to me these much-neglected things! "What pleasant
visions haunt me " of childish hopes and fears ; and as again I
seem to

" Gaze upon the sea,
All the old romantic legends,
All my dreams come back to me."

And in Fancy's realms my drooping thoughts pass on to those
homeless wanderers over the face of the earth, for whom never
more the scenes of their first homes will wear a charm — who, torn
from all familiar ties, and tossed and buffeted on the sea of life,
may perish unregarded in some far-distant land. The surging
crests of the great ocean's waves oft cast, to moulder on our
shores, the weeds and plants of other climes. We have figured

one of these fragments, which, after its long and boisterous
wanderings from the Azores to the eastern shores of the new
world, across the wide Atlantic to our own boreal coasts of the
old, has lost but little of its beauty. In the days of old adventure
the matted cords of this charming species stopped the famous
Spaniard's ships ; and still the long and narrow floating isles of
Gulf-weeds — shunned by the sailor — are the resting-places of
myriads of crabs, and other hosts of ocean's progenies hide and
nestle in its watery bowers.

But charming as the Sargassum bacciferum is in its grace-
fulness, and attractive as it may be in its historic associations,
naturalists would not, of course, admit either itself or its con-
gener, the Sargassum vulgare, as a truly British kind, but
would properly regard them as stray waifs from tropical
climes. The generic name is a Latinisation of the term
sargazo, given to the Gulf-weeds by the companions of
Columbus, and will for ever preserve the memory of its first
discoverer; while the ancient specific additamentum of natans,
or swimming, was highly characteristic of the habits of the
species.

Next in the ranks, and foremost of the really British weeds,
stands the common, but elegant, Halidrys stltquosa, already
figured at page 1 1 o, distinguished from all other fuci by the
compound structure of its air-vessels — a character peculiar to it,
and to the beautiful Fucus osmundaceus, of the western shores
of North America. In the last the structure is slightly different,
the vesicles being constricted at the joints like strings of beads.

SEA- WEEDS.

117

The air-vessels

of the Halidrys siliquosa are
11 UK

nlilr JHanr

those

pea-

-pod-like

wBr

^^5&>K» i~

[S^&mf^

a^s%

^^Sfeii ja^^^^

w

Sargossum bacciferum, or Gulf-weed.

expansions

of the frond, divided into chambers,

which

seem almost

to take the

place of leaves in

the engraving (p.

1 10).

Intermediate between Halidrys and the true fuci is placed the
genus Cystoceira. One of the most elegant of this charming
genus is the heath-like species, Cystoceira ericoides. On the shores
of the south of England especially, and over a very considerable
geographical range, extending even to the north of Africa, it may
be gathered at almost any period of the summer or autumn.
Under the water it glows with prismatic colours, and as each twig
waves to and fro, the hues vary as the light glances on its fronds ;
and while some " seem covered with sky-blue flowers, others
remain dark." In the air it presents only a glossy yellow, and in

Magnified View of Receptacle and Vesicle at Apex of Branch of Cystoceira ericoides.

the herbarium all its enchanting beauties of colour are gone, and
unless very great pains and skill have been exercised in the
manipulation, it will have shrunk in drying, and turned black.

In passing, it will be as well to gather specimens of the rather
stiff and cylindrical Pycnophycus tuberculatus, standing alone as it
does sui generis.

Of the true fuci, at page 108 is already figured the knotted one,
of which Scotch boys make whistles [Fucus nodosus), and that with
the saw-like edges [Fucus serratus), p. 109; but the ordinary bladder-
bearing sort, the Fucus vesiculosus, and the more translucent and

SEA- WE EDS. n9

bladderless or smooth kind, the Fucus ceranoidcs, and indeed the
whole genus, though common in the extreme, have high claims
to the attention of designers, not alone in the elegance of their
outlines and the disposition of their fronds, but as being the very
types and models of sea-weeds.

The Fucus vcsiculosus was at one time, particularly in the
Orkney Isles, regularly cropped for the manufacture of kelp, and
it is also known to contain a valuable portion of the sweet prin-^
ciple called mannite. In the cold and inhospitable regions of the
polar lands, wThere the thick snow has buried the scanty herbage
of the fields, the rocks furnish in their meadows of fuci abundant
fodder for the hungry kine, which regularly, at the retreat of the
tide, come down to graze ; and if these pages were not devoted to
other arts than the culinary, one might not unentertainingly give
a disquisition on edible sea-weeds, and on the various means
by which they are made subservient to the luxuries or necessities
of man.

The Icelanders, Greenlanders, the Chinese, and the East
Indians have already made some progress in this department ;
and nearer home, the Chondrus crispus, " carrageen," or Irish
moss, figured at page 120, has long ago been placed on the
table, in soup, jellies, and blanc-manges.

Or, if the natural history of the class were the object, one might
with equal pleasure dwell on the marvellous exhibition of the
strange animal-like motions of the troops of zoospores which
issue from the thick yellow slime exuded from the ripe recep-
tacles of the Fucus serratus — motions apparently so voluntary

120

ART- STUDIES FROM NATURE.

that it is difficult to consider them as concordant with mere
vegetation.

I have already hinted at . the capabilities of these weeds as
suggestive models for the carver in w^ood. Now few modern

Chondrus crispus.

structures are fitted up with more elegance than our first-class
ships, and in them no one will contend there is not a great and
appropriate field for the display of the ornamental or decorative
capabilities of sea-weeds. Here they are at once appropriate

SEA- WEEDS. 121

and reminiscent of those shores the voyagers have left behind —
speaking to them, whilst gliding over the sea, of those lands
whence they had departed, and of those other lands which they are
seeking. Around and beneath figure-heads, as scrolls upon the
bows or stern, bordering the panels of the cabin, and modelled to
suit the various machinery on deck, the designer might create
a marine ornamentation as characteristic and as pleasing, and
as elaborate, if he chose, as Corinthian skill developed from the
tile-covered plant for the architecture of the land.

In bronze or in iron, indeed in all dark metal-work, the fuci
could not fail to be elegant objects, and rich in their grouping
and in the effects produced. In many of those objects, too, which
the gilder prepares, the cockle-shells, or cockle-like scrolls and
cups so prominently displayed might be as elegantly and more
appropriately supported by well-devised groups of algee than by
lilies, fleurs-de-lys, or traceries of meaningless design.

One very pretty diminutive species of Fitcus [F. canaliculatus)
grows on the" very edge of the tide, and often where the waves
wet the rocks only with their spray. The chief crop grows cer-
tainly above the level of half-tide, and these plants show a
preference for droughty situations ; not unfrequently in the hot
days of the summer we find them quite crisp and dry, but on the
return of the tide they again absorb the aqueous fluid, and recover
life and flexibility. So sea-weeds which have long been shrivelled
up in the house will recover in appearance all their freshness and
verdancy on being merely immersed in a glass of salt or spring
water ; and the virtues of the former are now brought from the sea

R

122 ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

into our homes in the form of Tidman's Crystals. I make this
allusion because it is important that the artist, living perhaps in
some inland town or city, should know that the natural models he
may bring from the seaside on his holiday trip may be in reality,
though not apparently, usefully retained for future studies. Many
of the more leathery kinds will submit to several resuscitations of
this nature, although, as might be expected, a deterioration and
loss of colour, more or less, take place in each successive instance.
The ordinary method of preserving sea-weeds for natural-history
purposes is, as is familiarly known, to press them between
folds of linen and blotting-paper on to stout drawing-paper, to
which by their glutinous substance they firmly adhere, forming,
under the skilfulness of the manipulator, the most exquisite
natural pictures. In all these, however, the very act of compres-
sion, and the spreading out of the object on a flat surface, gives
an unnatural aspect, very different from their free condition.
It may be well, therefore, to state that in some few experiments
I have made I have found that pure glycerine will preserve even
the more pulpy and plump sorts — if I may use that expressive
adjective — without even the slightest change for at least consider-
able periods. Some of my specimens have been kept in glycerine
for more than eight months, and are as fresh in substance and in
colour as when they were first collected. Choice samples seem
thus capable of being indefinitely preserved in proper glass or
earthen vessels for use at any time by the designer.

In a visit to the art-museums at South Kensington I observed
two instances of the introduction of sea-weed: one in Mr. H.

SEA- WEEDS. 123

Weekes's noble statue of a "Young Naturalist," where, though
sparingly made use of, they can but be regarded as successful
innovations ; the other in the collection of imitation Majolica
ware, where a large vase has in relief some fronds of the Fiicus
serrahtSy which, from their unnaturally bright green and the want
of strict attention to the natural model, are not so attractive as
could have been desired. That sea-weeds, both painted or im-
pressed upon china and earthenware, are capable of producing
fine results, can scarcely be doubted ; and although it cannot be
written of me, as it was of an eminent statesman, — •

"China's the passion of his soul —
A cup, a plate, a dish, a bowl,
Can kindle wishes in his breast,
Inflame with joy, or break his rest," —

I shall not willingly give up the potter's art as intractable to my
purpose.

The genus Desmarestia, which follows the fuci in natural order,
offers some neat patterns for the painting of pottery and china
ware, especially in the long oval fronds of the Desmarestia ligulata,
a microscopic section of which is given at page 103. Its branching
fronds, so leaf-like in their development, and yet so unleaf-like in
reality, tempted me to figure a single branch of one of these
plants, as an example of its peculiar characters, which, in their
pale olive-green and purple hues, could scarcely fail of showing
to advantage on the white translucent ground of aluminous
materials. We have plates of a particularly small size dedicated
to the curdled produce of the dairy — in plain English, we have

Portion of Desmarestia ligulata.

cheese-plates, we have soup-
tureens and vegetable-dishes,
meat-plates and dessert-plates ;
and why might we not have
articles appropriated to the ser-
vice of fish, and decorated with
sea-weeds ? I have frequently
seen, in drying these objects,
their forms impressed through
the thick blotting-paper, and
forming very beautiful tracery
in low relief on the opposite
side. Such impressions have
always suggested the idea of a
similarly simple, chaste, and
elegant ornamentation of the
plainer and commoner wares.
The impressions left by the
Chondrus crispus, Dictyota dicho-
toma, and other flat and inter-
lacing forms, are most admir-
able for such a process. Simple
accidents may often lead to un-
expected results ; and Grecian
legends even attribute the dis-
covery of modelling in relief to
the tracing upon the wall, by a

SEA- WE EDS. 125

potter's daughter, of the shadow of her departing lovers face,
which her father modelled afterwards in clay.

Passing by the genera Arthrocladia, Sftorochnus, and Car-
fiomttra, which all, in a greater or lesser degree, offer pleasing
running patterns for the painting of porcelain or earthenware,
and of flat surfaces in general, we come to the noble family of
the Lamtnartce, so well and ordinarily known under the names
of sea-girdles and tangle. The size and expanse of the fronds

Root of Laminaria.

of the various species of LaminaricB exposed, in the bleak
and unprotected situations in which they grow, to the full
fury of the waves, are provided for in their leathery toughness,
the rope-like stem, and the numerous attaching discs of their
branching roots. The root of the sea-weed differs very materially
from the root of a plant : through it no nutritious sustenance
is conveyed to the algal; it draws nothing from the soil; it is
furnished with no organs ; it is merely an adhesive holdfast, similar

i26 ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

in principle to the sucker by which street-boys lift bricks and
stones ; it sends down no ramifying fibres into crevices of the
rocks, but merely adheres to the surface. How far their peculiar
characters could be elegantly made use of for the handles of vases,
covers, lids, and other objects and parts of articles which require to
be lifted or raised, must remain to be developed by the practical
designer and manufacturer.

The mussels and shell-fish which attach themselves to the
firm rootlets of the tangle, or which spin together or nestle in
the meandering fronds of the smaller kinds, often produce group-
ings worthy of much admiration, and which would form material
aids in the elaboration of practical patterns.

As there is much difficulty in expressing in a greatly reduced
drawing a long and narrow form like that of the common tangle,
I have contented myself with giving a figure of one of the roots,
to show how applicable they are for art-purposes.

The North American and Kamtschatkan species — the Laminaria
longicrucis — has a frond as large as a table-cloth, and a stem of
proportionate length. The English species attain very frequently
to six or eight feet, although in their native habitats they may
be gathered of every size, and in every stage of growth ; and to
reduce such giants to the scale of a few inches would give no
idea of their grandeur or beauty.

Of those immensely long and slender sea-weeds, placed by
algologists in a distinct genus, with the expressive name of
Chorda, little use, I think, can be made in the way of design. The
mere collector has to wind them assiduously into a coil in his

SEA- WEEDS.

127

herbarium ; and in their native element the only purpose they
seem to serve is to stop the passage of boats, or to drown un-
fortunate swimmers by entanglement about their legs ; for,
although often thirty or forty feet in length even on British
shores, and not thicker at their base than a whipcord, they are
extremely tough and tenacious.

The case is very different with the beautiful Dictyotaccce^ in
which family is included the
splendid Padina fiavoniay with
hues nearly as bright and as rich
as the " eye-spots " on the tail of
the glorious bird from which its
specific name is taken. Such a
marine beauty was not likely to
escape the attention of even early
naturalists, and we accordingly
find it mentioned in the writings
of Bauchin and" others. Ellis, al-
though he has no business with
it, cannot resist the temptation to
figure it in his famous book on
Corallines.

In the genus Cutleria we are
presented with some attractive
novelties, but the typical genus Dictyota merits special attention.

If the number and variety of names by which an algal was
known had any connection with its charms or its rarity, one

Dictvota atomaria.

128

ART- STUDIES FROM NATURE.

member at least of the characteristic group, the Dictyota atomaria
ought to be — as it really is — both rare and beautiful. The ancient
nomen triviale of Phasiana expresses well, in its allusion to the

plumage of that handsome bird, the barred
and zigzag markings caused by the scattering
in the substance of the frond — almost as one
would cast grains of sand or seeds by the
hand — of the dark-coloured spores or germs.
The whole plant, too, exhibits those most
delicate gradations of the primitive hue
which are not the least remarkable charac-
teristic of all sea-weeds. And in what are
our designers more deficient — especially those
employed in the decoration of our houses —
than in simple and delicate contrasts, or more
especially in those almost insensible grada-
tions of colours which are so admirable in their effect, and which
are so invariably presented to us alike in the sombre olive and in
the bright greens and reds of the sea-weeds ? We have no power

to express these natural gradations in our
woodcuts, but there is certainly much in this
way worthy of patient study. In this large
and extensive family there are yet more
instances of how various sections and magni-
ficent portions may possess artistic value. The section of a sorus
of Stilophora rhizodes seems, for example, so like the representa-
tion of a fragment of jewellery, that it cannot fail to excite wonder

Section of a Sorus of
Stilophora rhizodes.

that a source so prolific should have been neglected by our workers
in gold and silver, and our setters of pearls and precious stones.

The Mesoglota vermicularis, one of the gelatinous Chordariaceccy
is an ugly weed, but the filaments of the fronds are worthy, not-
withstanding, of being placed under
the power of the microscope and
viewed by an artist.

So, too, with the hollow cottony
Leathesidy looking like a macerated
walnut tufting the surface of the
rock : only peer into it with micro-
scopic vision, and a forest of crystal
fibres, composed of divided cells, the
lower ones long and slender, the
upper shorter, and supporting little
hyaline half-moons on their cusps,
springs into existence. The tiny
tufts of the Elachista and Myrio-
nema abound in bead-chain fibres,

while the genera Cladostephus and Sphacelaria offer more visible
patterns of a kind at once unleaf-like and novel. The Sphacelaria
plumosa, so wiry and feathery, resembles those curious members of
the animal kingdom, the Sertularice, as which it is almost as rigid
and as elegant; while the small tufts of the rare Sphacelaria
ramosa are again charming microscopic objects.

The family Ectocarpacece contains a fund of marvellous ideas.
One more genus of British olive weeds alone remains to be

S

Portion of Filaments, Axial and Peri-
pherical, of Mesogloia vermicular is.

130

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

mentioned, consisting of two little parasitic species not uncommon
on the fronds of Chorda lomentaria ; but though curious and
singular in construction, they offer nothing so tempting as many
of those we have been compelled to pass over in silence.

For the purpose of study, the Melanosperms offer a never-
failing supply, always accessible at low water ; but should oppor-
tunity arise of acquiring a knowledge of the Rhodosperms, with
their fairy forms and brilliant hues, it should not be neglected,

Cladosteph us verticillatus.
Portion of a branch. One of the ramuli.

for these deep-water algals seldom reach us but in broken plants
washed ashore ; and dried specimens, flattened and faded, cease to
be models for study. As to the Chlorosperms, the Ulvce are full of
grace and beauty, and in the south of England they are served at
table as a relish to roast meat, under the title of laver, and which
is now sold in many London shops. The Ulva linza, figured at
p. 107, is a good type of the graceful outline of this elegant
family of sea-weeds.

SEA- WEEDS.

*3i

Oft beneath the warm and brilliant rays of summer's sun, in

Portion of Sphacelaria plumosa.

shallow skiff, I have glided on the calm and polished surface of

i 3 2 ART-STUDIES FROM NA TURE.

the sea — the mirror of the glowing sky and heavens beyond —
over the dark forests of tangle waving in the tide, and plucked
the pellucid limpets browsing on their stems ; and, peering down
into the rugged dells below, have seen the star-fish crawl with
sucker-arms along the rocks, where whelks drill holes in shells
of stone-clad molluscs, to feed upon their soft and luscious flesh ;
where sea-anemones, with outspread tentacles, make gardens of
living flowers ; and awkward crabs peep out from darksome nooks
at glittering fish, then scramble sidelong back again into their
holes.

In winter, by the raging waves — when skaters swift o'er
slippery ice with rapid pace were gliding ; when ears were
tingling with the biting cold, and tender people roasting over
blazing fires — I have paced along the congealed sands to see the
shell-fish frozen hard and fast, glued to the rocks ; and sea-
weeds, crisp and rigid, recover life and elasticity in the flowing
tide.

In time of spring I have hunted over the slippery meadows of
our shores for the instinct-led travellers from the deep, coming to
the shallow tidal zone to propagate their tribes. And in the
golden season I have watched the sportive play, in rocky pools
o'ershadowed by these graceful weeds, of iridescent annelide and
cilia-paddled beroe — have tracked the skipping shrimps along the
silvery sands, or have patiently followed the Patella vulgaris in
its solemn march to graze upon the verdant ulvae, and again
returning at the change of tide to adjust its conical house with
stately nicety on its proper site.

III.

ON THE CRYSTALS OF SNOW AS APPLIED TO THE

PURPOSES OF DESIGN.

By JAMES GLAISHER, F.R.S.

ON THE CRYSTALS OF SNOW AS APPLIED TO
THE PURPOSES OF DESIGN.

I.

NOW, in the ordinary acceptation of the word, is sugges-
tive of a soft flocculent matter of considerable opacity,
falling in flakes, and, as compared with water, of little
density — a foot of fresh-fallen snow producing but from a tenth to
a twelfth part of water. Snow, however, does not always fall in
flakes ; under certain conditions of atmosphere and temperature it
occasionally falls in groups of slender needle-like particles or
spiculae, which under the microscope exhibit no structural detail
worthy of remark, but are irregular and jagged in outline. This
is one of the most imperfect forms of snow crystallization, and
occurs generally at a temperature but little above freezing, and at
the commencement of a severe and continued frost, or immediately
preceding a general thaw.

At other times a light feathery snow may be seen to fall,
composed almost entirely of stars of six spiculae or radii, united in
the centre by a white molecule. These are seldom less than from
four to five tenths of an inch in diameter, and are generally
collected in tufts of half-a-dozen or more together, which in calm

*36

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

weather waft uninjured to the ground. Sometimes these are mixed
with other stars of more intricate figure, to be spoken of presently.
Fig. i illustrates this variety, and is enlarged to double the pro-
portions of the original.

Fig. i.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3-

Sometimes a heavy fall of ordinary snow may be accompanied
by a number of minute specks, glistening among the flakes like
fragments of talc or mica, as seen sparkling in a mass of granite.
On careful investigation these prove to be thin laminated

Fig. 4.

Fig. 5-

Fig. 6.

hexagons of the most perfect delicacy and symmetry of form,

as shown in Fig. 2.

The hexagon and star being the base of all the crystals of

snow yet observed, we will proceed to show how the more

elaborate figures are compounded of these two primary elements.

CRFSTALS OF SNOW.

M7

To explain various peculiarities of structure which occur in
several of the larger drawings, we will refer to the process of
crystallization as carried on at low temperatures on the surface of
still or gently-moving water.

*ig. 7-

Fig. 8.

Fig. 9.

Water freezes at an angle of 60 °. On its first congelation, under
favourable circumstances for observation, we perceive in parts,
generally about the centre and around the margin, a corrugation of
its surface. This corrugation presently discovers a series of distinct
figures, needle-like in form, and analogous to the spiculae of snow.

Fig. 10. Fig. 11. Fig. 12.

As the process continues, to each of these needles, while yet
forming, a serrated incrustation of leafy or arborescent character
is attaching itself, so that in time the greater number of them
become each the centre of a crystalline pinna, not unlike a frond

T

'3«

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

of the lady fern. Fig. 25 (page 140) is a sketch of one, the size of
the original, as observed by T. G. Rylands, Esq., of Warrington,
and sent to us during the severe winter of 1855. The overlapping
observable on one side of the pinna is a peculiarity generally to
be found in three out of the six leaves forming the entire crystal.

Fig. 13.

Fig. 15.

Fig. 14.

Fig. 26 (page 141) represents the crystal when complete; the
drawing was made by ourselves, and gives with great exacti-
tude the figure of the needles, which, it will be observed, diverge
from the main stem uniformly at an angle of 6o°. The position

Fig. 16. Fig. 17. Fig. 1-8.

maintained by them around the centre of the crystal is beautifully
adaptive, and well worth examination.

It is not always that the primitive spicube are divergent
in groups of six. At times they arrange themselves irregularly in
clusters, and crystallization proceeds with results of a character

CRFSTALS OF SNOW.

i39

somewhat different, but scarcely less beautiful, of which Fig. 27
(page 142) may be considered a type. This is analogous to the fan-
ciful forms of frost seen on the interior of a pane of glass, and is fre-
quently to be found where the water is very shallow, and where its
mixture with some gritty substance, or blade of grass, or other ob-

Fig. 19

Fig. 20.

Fig. 21,

struction, has in all probability interfered with a more geometric
arrangement. By degrees the whole surface of the water becomes
interlaced with needles and pinnae, whether singly or in groups,
and thin laminated surfaces of ice which cover all interstices.

tig. 22.

Fig. 23-

Fig. 24.

Then, according to external influences, the ice either thickens,
obliterating all this beautiful tracery, or it melts away before the
rising temperature of the day. It often happens, however, that
these processes occur after dark, or that the water freezes so
rapidly as to disappoint the wishes of the observer. At moderate

140

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

temperatures these changes are best observed ; but, in our
opinion, they are somewhat dependent on other atmospheric
conditions. The formation of the needles is common to the

Fig. 25.

freezing of water under all circumstances, and they vary from
a few inches to a few feet in length.

To return to the crystals of snow. Fig. 3 (page 136) is another

CRVSTALS OF SNOW.

141

elementary figure, common to temperatures about the freezing-
point ; it is not often less than half an inch in diameter, and is a
miniature copy of the water crystal.

Another simple order of figures, and containing within them-

Fig. 26.

selves the germ of the most symmetrical combinations, is that of
which Figs. 4 and 5 (page 136) are types ; they exhibit secondary
spiculae diverging from the principal radii at an angle of 60 °.

142

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

Around the simple it frequently happens that a secondary and
smaller star is arranged, as in Fig. 6 (page 136), the radii of which
are intermediate between those of the former. An angle of 300 is,
however, of unfrequent occurrence, and it seems probable that in

Fig. 27.

this and similar cases it is the union of two crystals of distinct
hexagonal formation.

Sometimes it happens that the secondary spiculae, which we
see in Figs. 4 and 5, are continued down the main radii until they
form a contact with each other, as in Fig. 7 (page 137). The star
thus enclosed about the centre generally becomes laminated and of

CRVSTALS OF SNOW.

'43

great transparency. In other varieties, as in Fig. 8 (page 137), it
is intersected by the rays of the secondary or intermediate crystal.
Having traced the elementary principles of these figures to the
first formation of a simple nucleus, we will proceed to the con-
sideration of the more compound varieties, in which the nucleus is
a conspicuous element of construction.

Fig. 28.

The figures we have been considering, although possessed of
unity of design in a high degree, are found to exhibit no great
perfection of structural detail when examined beneath a lens ;
those that we are about to inquire into belong to a more perfect
order, much more minute and very compound.

144

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

Fig. 28 is a figure of this class, much enlarged and drawn as
seen beneath a microscope. It was highly crystallized, and the
angles and planes of which it is composed were sharply and well
defined. The prisms at the end of the radii were cut into facets,
and glistened with brilliancy, as did the six prisms around the
centre. The radial arms were sharply cut, six-sided shafts, very

Fig. 29.

different from the snowy rounded spiculae of the elementary figures.
It was easily discernible to the naked eye, and principally those
parts which are white in the engraving, and which communicate
to the copy very much the effect of the original when under the
full influence of direct light. The centre is laminated, hexagonal in

CRYSTALS OF SNOW.

H5

form, and within it we perceive the secondary star of prisms ; also
that each addition to the radii diverges at an angle of 6oQ.

Fig. 29 is another, highly crystallized, and composed of parallel
prisms, divergent from the radial arms at an angle of 6o°, and
without nucleus. The irregular blade-like terminations arise from
an ill-advised eagerness in the observation of their originally very

Fig. 30.

complicated structure, by which they were in a moment dissolved,
without injury, however, to the symmetry of the figure.

Fig. 30 is a beautiful compound of the higher order of
crystallized bodies with the more elementary, the nucleus
belonging to the former, and the radii at their extremities to the

u

146

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

latter. This at first sight appears an anomaly ; but we explain it
on the supposition that the entire structure of the original crystal
has been of a high order, the shafts six-sided, as they remain
still at their base, and the leafy incrustrations to have been
regularly distributed prisms, as in the preceding figure ; that the
crystal, in its descent, has passed through various temperatures of

Fig. 31.

intense cold, probably exchanged for a warmer at one instant of
time, in which it has partially thawed, and again passing into a
cold stratum in approaching the ground, has been once more
congealed, giving rise to the white opacity and irregular form of
its terminations. And this explanation is the more reasonable, as

CRFSTALS OF SNOW.

HI

will be gathered from a description of the dissolving or thawing of
these bodies.

Fig. 31 is a crystal seen just previous to its returning to the
primitive drop of water. Originally composed of the ordinary
radial arms, each supporting prisms of the form seen in Fig. 29,
and with a simple hexagonal nucleus, under the influence of

Fig. 32.

a very slightly increased temperature the rigidity of each line has
become relaxed, whilst the crystalline matter, all but fluid and no
longer heaped up into prisms, is distributed over a wider area,
according to the laws of attraction and corresponding area of
surface.

148

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

A very different order of figures are those of which Figs. 32,
33, 34, and 35 are types. The originals were exceedingly
small — so minute, indeed, that the specks containing all these
beauties of detail were almost inappreciable to the naked eye. It
will readily be perceived that they differ greatly from the order
arising out of the primitive star or its secondary radii. The

Fig. 33-

base of these must be referred to the hexagon, as shown at Fig. 2.
The mostr highly elaborate of our illustrations, shown at Fig. 33,
exhibited a succession of planes raised one above another, the
centre of each radial arm intersected by a slender crystalline shaft
laden with delicate prisms. Fig. 35 preserves more the form of

CRYSTALS OF SNOW.

149

the ordinary hexagon, and was cut very regularly into facets.
Of Figs. 34 and 35 we were unable to observe the exact disposi-
tion of the raised surfaces, and have delineated the outline only :

Fig. 34-

these figures fell, with several others far more complicated, during
the continuance of a very unusual degree of cpjd for these
latitudes.

1 5o ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

II.

We have thus far endeavoured to show the true bases of
construction, and how that crystallization proceeds onwards
from the simple forms to the more complex, and have selected
from numerous varieties a few of the best types illustrative
of this progress. Our limits will scarcely permit us further
to individualise these beautiful creations ; yet, not to mislead,
it is necessary to refer to an intermediate order, in which the
hexagon star is laden with divergent spiculae between groups
of prisms. Fig. 36, selected from this very numerous class of
figures, was one of several observed during the cold weather,
following upon the general thaw, which terminated the long-
continued and severe frost of 1855. The spiculae were icicle-like,
of the utmost delicacy, opaque, and well defined ; the prisms, on
the contrary, were watery, almost rounded, and, as it seemed, on
the verge of dissolution. The entire figure had the appearance of
two distinct orders of formation — the prisms which belong to a
very low temperature, and the spiculae which are commonly
formed at and about the freezing-point. Fig. 37 is another of
the same class, and in a very intermediate state ; the additions to
the main radii are neither prisms nor spiculae, yet partaking of
the character of both : its peculiarity consists in the tertiary
incrustations being placed downwards towards the centre. This
form has been observed only during very severe cold.

Fig. 38 is somewhat analogous to the crystals of water ; its

CRVSTALS OF SNOW.

151

centre is hexagonal, but the prisms are irregular crystalline
incrustations of the utmost delicacy and transparency ; it was of
large size, fully half an inch in diameter, and glistening like a
fragment of talc among the snow-flakes, was discernible at a
considerable distance.

Fig. 39 (page 156) is a specimen of a double crystal ; that is,

Fig. 35-
two similar crystals united by an axis at right angles to the plane
of each. It is highly complex, and the effect of each is more than
doubled by the arrangement. Crystals so united are not unfre-
quent in severe weather.

During one winter our observations numbered nearly two
hundred varieties.

'52

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

The series of small drawings given on pages 137, 138, and
139, were made with a lens of moderate power, but they are
not equal in value or structural detail to those drawn beneath
the microscope. They are among the most elementary figures
observed ; and, as illustrative of the first principles of forma-
tion, are chiefly worthy of consideration. Of more elaborate

Fig. 36.

figures drawn beneath the microscope, besides those more im-
mediately referred to in the text, examples are given in Figs. 40,
41, and 42.

The idea of observing snow crystals is by no means original.
We know for certain that Aristotle observed them ; also Descartes,

CRTSTALS OF SNOW.

*53

Greu, Kepler, and Drs. Nettes and Scoresby of modern times.
Sir Edward Belcher also devoted a considerable degree of atten-
tion to the study of the crystals of snow in the Arctic regions.
There the radial arms were seldom less than an inch in length,

Fig. 37>

and might be seen, according to Sir Edward Belcher, drifted in
heaps into the crannies and recesses of the ice. They were
seldom to be obtained in a perfect condition, generally separating,
by reason of their weight and size, on descending to the ground.

x

15+ ART- STUDIES FROM NATURE.

III.

Having brought to a close all that is here necessary to
say respecting the formation of these bodies, and the posi-
tion they occupy in regard to scientific inquiry, we may now
turn to a consideration of their capabilities to suggest new
forms in decorative design, as applied to the industrial arts.
Being ourselves desirous to promote the adoption of the appro-
priate as well as the simple beauty of truth in ornament,
we will first inquire how far these figures are in accordance
with those general principles of arrangement of form which
in all ages and countries have constituted the truly beautiful
in art.

These are summed up briefly in the propositions contained in
the opening chapter of Mr. Owen Jones's " Grammar of Orna-
ment." We extract the following : —

"Proposition 3. — As Architecture, so all works of the Decora-
tive Arts should possess fitness, proportion, harmony, the result of
all which is repose.

"Proposition 5. — Decoration should never be purposely con-
structed : that which is beautiful is true, that which is true is
beautiful.

"Proposition 8. — All ornament should be based upon a
geometrical construction.

" Proposition 9. — As in Architecture, so in the Decorative Arts,
every assemblage of forms should be arranged on certain definite

CRVSTALS OF SNOW.

155

proportions ; the whole and each particular member should be a
multiple of some particular unit.

"Proposition 10. — Harmony of form consists in the proper
balancing and contrast of the straight, the inclined, and the
curved."

Further on, from the same high authority, we receive as

Fig. 38.

an axiom — "That there can be no perfect composition where
either of the three primary elements is wanting — the straight,
the inclined, and the curved, or where they are not so harmonized
that the one preponderates over the other two." In the crystals
of snow we perceive these last conditions are implicitly fulfilled,

156

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

inasmuch as they include the varieties, straight, angular, and
curved, of which the angular has a decided preponderance.

With regard to the proportions of number on which these
figures are based, we shall find them almost all deficient in the
maintenance of a ratio, water crystallizing at an angle of 6o°, a
fact exemplified in the radial arms and the secondary and

Fig. 39-

tertiary additions, which, always produced at the same angle, are
characteristic of the greater number of these crystals. Thus they
can be considered suggestive only of more complete designs — the
centre, in fact, of a bordering or pattern-work, to be completed
round them according to the intended application, and with due

CRVSTALS OF SNOW.

'57

reference to those ratios of number which are found most accept-
able in composition.

Founded upon a strictly geometric base, and a uniform repeti-
tion of a certain concordant irregularity of parts, bound together
in one harmonious unity by the laws of circular composition,
which serve to lend beauty to their constructive details, and

Fig. 40.

constitute the archeus of the figure, we are impressed with a
conviction of their truth and conformity to the natural principles
of beauty.

The impulse created in their favour is thus subsequently con-
firmed on rational and acknowledged grounds of admiration.

158

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

This is the more satisfactory that, belonging to no school of
architecture or design, they may be considered as originating a
new order of forms for the further supply or extension of those so
long acknowledged and admired. We do not, however, consider
that they will equally well assimilate with all or any of the orders
of decorative art. It appears to us, according to the means placed

Fig. 41.

at our disposal for arriving at a conclusion, that they are analogous
in many respects to the numerous specimens of angular composi-
tion which belong to the mediaeval period of Byzantine art.

It may not be altogether foreign to the subject briefly to
consider the united power of geometric figures, in conjunction

CRVSTALS OF SNOW.

i59

with colour, to produce the striking and beautiful effects which
form so important a feature in Byzantine and Moresque mosaic
(but particularly the former) specimens of art.

The base of Byzantine mosaic is principally the relation of
the hexagon to the triangle, upon which base almost innumerable
combinations have been constructed. These Byzantine mosaics

Fig. 42.

are always extremely simple in structure, some being made up
entirely of the triangle, others of stars either six or eight rayed,
singly or enclosed in a hexagon or octagon placed at intervals,
and united by the more simple figure of the triangle, which,
arranged in groups, serve as connecting links from one to the

i6o

ART- STUDIES FROM NATURE.

other. The whole composition is rendered either sparkling or
monotonous according to the .employment of contrasted effects or
a limited and uniform range of colour, and is admirably illus-
trative of how the uniformity of the geometric figure may be
broken up and destroyed, its very character changed, indeed,
according to the system of colouring adopted — an illustration

Fig. 43-

still further confirmed by a study of the varied and evolved designs
on a part of the encaustic pavement of the Byzantine Court at the
Crystal Palace, which, described in shades of neutral tint through-
out, upon a ground of the same colour, renders it difficult for
the eye to detect any variation of pattern.

The specimens of Moresque mosaic with which we are ac-

quainted differ somewhat in character from that which we have
been considering. Based upon the square and its affinities, it is
constructed mainly with reference to the ratios of eight, four, and
twelve. It is less glittering in colour than the Byzantine, and
attracts the eye more to masses than to fragments.

The figures of snow are nearly allied to the principles of these
decorative styles of art, based as they are upon a system of
angular geometry. We perceive, also, that the primitive base of
the crystals is the leading figure of mosaic, founded, as most of it
is, upon the hexagon and its combinations, though occasionally
admitting, with great effect, the employment of the octagon.
Thus they seem naturally suggestive of an extension of the forms
common to mosaic, and may be the means of eliciting fresh
combinations scarcely less beautiful than those transmitted to
us from the past.

The fitness of mosaic for the purposes of decoration is evident,
on the ground of its conformity to certain fixed principles of truth
which scarcely permit of deviation. One of the oldest of the
mechanical arts, originating in experimental combinations with
cubes solid and transparent, subsequently improving as the
science of geometry became more generally understood, it is
now, in the hands of some of our most eminent manufacturers, not
the least important among the industrial agents of the present
day, as may be seen in the beautiful encaustic and painted tiles
for pavements and decorative purposes generally, executed by
Messrs. Minton & Co., of Stoke-upon-Trent.

One great fault of the decorative designs of the present day

Y

r62 ART- STUDIES FROM NATURE.

is the want of " appropriate " ornament to the purposes in view,
and the mixture of schools or styles of art, which characterize so
many of the patterns commonly produced for domestic and even
higher applications — a mixture too often involving the entire
destruction of truth, fitness, and proportion, the three essential
elements of beauty. In the magnificent work on the " Principles
of Ornament/' by Mr. Jones, we have an entire history of the
past in architectural design, classified into schools, the origin
and progress of each, either traced or traceable in connection
with the period at which it flourished, and the people who gave
it birth. We may therefore anticipate that the pure and beautiful
so made known amongst us may exercise an important and
beneficial influence on design, from its highest to its lowest
applications.

We do not forget, however, that the art of mosaic, taking its
rise beneath the sunny skies of Italy and Greece, and glittering
even now on the walls and beneath the cloisters of the Byzantine
churches of Italy and Sicily, and within the mosques and palaces
of the East, accords rather with the genius of the South and the
gorgeous taste of the East than with the less florid tone of more
northern lands ; and a thorough understanding of the conditions
under which it so long assimilated with, and continued to con-
stitute a dazzling feature in, the decoration of two, if not three,
of the highest styles of architecture — the Moresque, Byzantine,
and Arabian — is necessary to enable us to profit to the full by
its capabilities as an industrial agent. Nor do we forget that the
rise of mosaic (we are speaking of its conventional varieties) was

CRFSTALS OF SNOW. 163

accompanied by, or was rather the result of, the decline of art,
when for a period a mechanical process usurped the place of
higher efforts of design and fancy.

For the very reason, however, that the art and its imitations
must be to a great extent mechanical, we could wish to see its
range of utility still further extended. Not admitting of wide
deviations from fixed principles, we would prefer to see it
substituted for the large mass of nondescript patterns to which
we have already made allusion. And our facilities are great for
introducing it into more general use ; for in the same way that
the painter's art has, with the utmost truthfulness of effect, repro-
duced for our study and admiration representations of the elaborate
inlayings of marble and glass, with which the originals, centuries
ago, were constructed, we may carry its imitation successfully into
almost every branch of manufacture or decoration ; and, whilst
preserving the spirit of the combinations, unfettered by the
constructive difficulties of the original work, we may engraft new
figures, and originate new styles of pattern, perhaps available
for a variety of applications.

IV.

An attempt to adapt a revival of Byzantine glass mosaic
to various household elegancies has within the last few years
been made by Mr. George Stephens, of Pimlico, who, after
considerable study of the mosaics of antiquity, has designed
a large variety of elaborate and beautifully executed patterns
for tables, stands, panellings, candelabra, &c. In the speci-
mens that we have seen his combinations have been based,
many of them upon the hexagon and its varieties, and several
upon the octagon, which is necessarily more removed from the
simplicity of the Byzantine school. In the opinion of Mr. Stephens
the figures of snow are highly suggestive of a still further exten-
sion of the forms known in mosaic, and he considers that they
will materially aid in the construction of new figures. We believe
that it is his intention shortly to attempt an adaptation of some of
them to the purposes of his art.

We feel that we cannot sufficiently admire the structural detail
of the greater number of these productions, and the rich effects of
colour united in their composition. But here we may remark,
that to render the ancient Byzantine mosaic an appropriate deco-
rative agent, it is necessary that the artist should not copy im-
plicitly from the works of the past, but seek most to maintain
between it and surrounding influences the same relation that
formerly existed between it and the people under whose hands it
attained such distinguished pre-eminence. As we have already

CRFSTALS OF SNOW. 165

said, the art originated beneath the skies of Italy and Greece, and
with it the system of bright and glittering colours which rendered
it so perfect in itself, and in its relation to all surrounding things.
Deprived of these bright influences of climate, we find it in our
own country no less beautiful in itself, but wanting in a due har-
monious relation to the tone of colour it is brought in contact with.
To remedy this — to naturalise the art, in fact — the artist should be
content to trust rather to harmony of design than to chromatic
effects ; so that the eye, uncaught by a general sensation of bril-
liancy and glitter, may repose upon the quiet harmony of the
design ; and this remark we make as applying more or less to
all mosaic, and entering as a matter of consideration into every
application of which it is capable in this country, though more
particularly in reference to the especial description executed by
Mr. Stephens.

In rejecting strong chromatic effects, however, we would not
be understood to sanction neglect of the very material aid afforded
by colour in giving life and purpose to mosaic; but we would
have it studied with a view to its creating as many varieties of
pattern as can possibly result from the introduction of a limited
range of colour upon a uniform series of designs. For instance,
how many varieties of pattern the eye is able to trace from the
simple repetition of a six-rayed star of uniform colour upon a
ground broken into triangles by the introduction of two other
colours to complete the triple harmony ! This is an unfailing
charm in mosaic : however simple or however complex the con-
struction of the design, viewed from a distance, the eye is con-

1 66 ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

stantly discovering, without mental effort, fresh combinations
which, arising out of natural and fixed laws, communicate plea-
sure to the beholder.

To encaustic tile-work and its imitations the figures of snow
appear peculiarly suggestive ; and it is remarkable that a few of
the patterns preserved to us from antiquity are exactly similar to
the nuclei of some of the snow crystals. In this application,
far more than in the conventional glass mosaic and its imi-
tations of which we have been speaking, we are compelled to
seek effect in symmetry of design* Necessarily excluded from
imparting the idea of raised surfaces, such being inconsistent with
the intention of flooring, which is to present a level surface to
the eye and feet, we are also confined to a very limited range of
colour, in order not to interfere with the decorations of the walls
and ceilings, and the manufacture of encaustic tiles being in itself
limited to the employment of but few colours. Thus excluded
from the rich and subtle harmonies of colour, and the relievo of
light and shade, our attention is principally directed to the design
which, in regard to this application, should combine simplicity
with uniformity of outline, and be easily referable to a purely
geometric base. And here we may add, in regard to the figures
of snow, that, whether in outline or in relievo, they are equally
symmetrical. In the one case they are simply enlarged copies of
the general effect to the naked eye ; in the other they present to
us structural details only visible by the employment of a high-
power lens, or as seen by the aid of a microscope.

An equal range of adaptation is likewise open to them in

CRYSTALS OF SNOW. 167

regard to floor-cloth, which involves attention to the conditions
above mentioned as referring to tile-work, but in a less degree,
inasmuch as its more household and domestic applications allow
a somewhat greater latitude in fancy and colour. As suitable for
canvas, they will admit of various supplementary borderings and
intricacies of pattern, conceived around them in the spirit of the
original design, and serving as a means for the introduction
of the colours most commonly employed in this branch of manu-
facture.

In regard to the figures of snow we have two distinct sug-
gestive ideas in reference to their application, — the one, that of
ingrafting them into different styles of ornament for their further
extension into new forms ; the other, that of their adoption to
various decorative purposes now usurped by designs or patterns
which, in part sanctioned by use, are greatly censurable on the
grounds of fitness and taste. In the latter spirit we consider
that they may be most usefully applied to paper-hangings,
although of late in this branch of design there has been a mani-
fest improvement. Not long ago the " artist " who presided over
this department, and whose influence was felt more or less in
every home of the kingdom, had no guide but his own ill-educated
and distorted will ; he threw things together without the least
regard to harmony of colour, fitness of proportion, or form of any
kind, and called the heterogeneous mass " a design." Latterly he
has had better opportunities for the acquisition of knowledge ; but
what is of far more importance, he has had better-informed critics.
In some instances his task has preceded, in others it has followed,

that of his customers ; but assuredly we do not now often see
upon our walls the monstrous perpetrations which disgraced those
of our childhood. If the paper-hanger will examine this collec-
tion of suggestions from Nature — from Nature as she exhibits only
one phase of grace and beauty — we feel sure that he will be
at once convinced that their adoption will be of immense value to
him.

There is one application yet to mention, which we have reserved
to this place as involving somewhat lengthy consideration — that
of their adaptation to the manufacture of earthenware and por-
celain. The ungainly and unmeaning spots that are so often put
upon plates, and the distorted ornament which so frequently
degrades cups and saucers and jugs for ordinary domestic use,
we hope may, to a great extent, be displaced by these snow
crystals, which, varied to infinity, would cause the eye and mind
to receive that refreshment which arises from the true and beau-
tiful ; nor are we without hope that they may ultimately be
received into the higher application to porcelain. We all know
that porcelain has long enjoyed a monopoly of the most tasteful
designs that art could suggest, whether of birds, flowers, medal-
lions of figures, or arabesques ; but we are in hopes that they
may suggest a few novelties of designs to this the most favoured
medium for the display of the natural and beautiful in art. This
hope of itself suggests the question, How far have the beauty and
symmetry of the geometric figure been acknowledged and em-
ployed hitherto in their designs ? The answer to this question
involves an inquiry into the history of designs as applied to

pottery, from its first crude attempts at the delineation of natural
objects to the present time, when, both in England and abroad,
it has attained to such great perfection. As a distinct inquiry
this is scarcely less interesting than instructive, leading, as it
does, the student in design to a correct knowledge of that which
is beautiful and appropriate rather than conventional. As an
important aid to such knowledge, the Ceramic collection at
the South Kensington Museum offers a means of study to
the student in ceramic design. The most crude attempts,
dating from the conclusion of the fifteenth and the beginning
of the sixteenth centuries, are easily distinguishable by the
rude outlines they exhibit of men and animals and flowers :
in some cases strictly imitative, so far as the skill of the
workman has permitted ; in others, fanciful and grotesque. In
some specimens belonging to this period of art are attempts at
creative design in the geometric precision with which similar
forms of leaves and interlaced patterns are represented, chiefly
described in shades of the same colour upon a uniform ground,
and differing much in regard to the accuracy with which they are
executed. Some of the subjects chosen are religious, including
representations of our Saviour ; some allegorical ; and others,
again, heraldic devices. The rude, but flowing, and sometimes
evolved, designs of the interlaced and outline patterns are chiefly
borrowed from leaves and flowers, rather than. based on principles
of geometry ; the colouring also is bold and prominent, in con-
formity with the spirit of the design, and exhibits the primaries
blue, red, and yellow, but slightly tempered by the milder and

z

1 7o ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

subsidiary tints, upon which, at a later time, the painters of
Majolica knew so well how to rest their most soft and agreeable
effects.

Of the Raphael ware, so well known and so highly prized by
connoisseurs, little here need be said. Raphael, in his early
youth, is supposed to have devoted some time to the painting of
Majolica, and hence its name at this period and for some time
beyond. Whether or not the easy grace and spirited style of these
paintings, chiefly allegorical, though representing sometimes
passages from history, and the harmonious softness of the
colouring, give intrinsic value to the most trifling specimens of
the art, whether for ornament or domestic use (and many rich
specimens still remain to attest their value, and the exuberant
taste and imagination of those painters who were content to trust
their creations of fancy to so brittle a medium), to them the
designers of the present day remain indebted for a certain
freedom and unconventional display of art, which, restrained and
modified, long exercised an influence on design, and is traceable
even now.

A few years later an entirely new class of designs was
originated by Palissy, master potter to Francis I. This eminent
ceramic artist, born in France, was the originator of the Palissy
ware, scarcely less known than that of Raphael. His works are
executed in relievo, and are distinguished from others of the
period in the choice of subjects, which are chiefly drawn from
natural objects, such as plants, reptiles, fishes, &c. Among the
specimens known by the name of Palissy ware are rustic baskets

CRYSTALS OF SNOW. i7i

designed on a strictly geometric base of divergent lines from the
centre to the circumference, partly in relievo, and very effective in
style and composition. The chief merit of this artist consists in
his fidelity to Nature, and an original whimsicality of conception.
Passing on from Palissy, we come, many years later, to specimens
of china of a tasteful degree of ornament, that wTould do no
discredit to the porcelain works of the present day. Here, in the
central medallion, is a group of figures, Raphaelesque in their
easy grace of outline, yet highly studied, and claiming the rank of
a finished picture.

The Berlin porcelain illustrates the perfection of that union
which combines the imitation of the beautiful in Nature with the
less sensuous beauty of the geometric figure. In the Sevres porce-
lain, in the same collection, the geometric figure rises to higher
importance, forming in the beautiful "Versailles Service" a
framework for the jewels which enrich the exquisite centre
medallions.

The impression we derive from retracing the history of the
past is, that the geometric figure has rarely been employed as
a principal agent in decoration. We are speaking still in
reference to the period we have been considering, and which is
one calculated to trace with effect the progress we have in view.
Prominent among the earlier specimens is the delineation of
simple forms borrowed from Nature, repeated with indifferent
fidelity of execution, and spread over the entire surface of the
piece; whilst in later times, when the mechanical processes
improved and admitted of greater accuracy, we find it restricted to

172 ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

light and artificially constructed borderings, so arranged as to
lend additional beauty to the freedom of colour and design
elsewhere displayed ; and we gather, also, that if in the works of
high art we find it nowhere unmixed with designs of a less formal
character, there is scarcely a work that is not indebted to the
grave and conventional arrangement of pattern founded upon a
genuine knowledge and elucidation of its principles.

It has ever been greatly against the very general adoption of
geometrically constructed figures to the purposes of porcelain, that
the unaided hand of the draftsman is insufficient to insure the
requisite accuracy of outline — a difficulty which even at the
present day limits to a very great extent their employment in this
department of art. Still, we are led to hope that the figures
of snow may prove suggestive of a new basis on which to
construct designs no less symmetrical than those which we have
seen to proceed from other and better-known sources ; whilst the
rate of modern improvement in most branches of industry leads us
to hope that this difficulty before long may become less for-
midable, and that improvements in printing will enable manufac-
turers to repeat with tolerable cheapness patterns which have
been confined to the more costly articles of luxury. Of modern
applications one in particular occurs to us — it is that they
may aid in the formation of a set of ice-plates for the dessert
or supper table. We can imagine the ground of the plates a clear
light blue ; in the centre may be the crystal, selecting in
preference from those forms which are most crystalline and
arborescent ; among them, that most graceful of all, the water

CRFSTALS OF SNOW. 173

crystal, distinguishing it from the ground by shades of grey,
which should be so distributed as to impart to the copy the frosted
effect of the original. Around the centre, and immediately
beneath or upon the raised margin of the plate, might be
arranged a circular bordering, similar to that we have described
as surrounding the margin of a pond on its first congelation,
when the needles, becoming incrusted with crystalline deposit,
assume the appearance of frosted ferns.

There is yet another application that suggests itself to us,
although the beautiful designs on porcelain executed by Messrs.
Copeland & Co. scarcely leave anything to be desired by
the most fastidious ; we refer to the painting of tiles or slabs
of porcelain, to be mounted in frames of silver, or wood, for
ornamental or domestic purposes, and for which, of late, there has
been a large and increasing demand. Fig. 44 (page 174) is
designed for this application from one of the snow crystals.

To turn to yet another and far wider scope which may hence
be given to the cotton-printer, millions of " dresses " issue every
year from Manchester. For those which are intended to clothe
" the masses " there is usually little attempt at design. A simple
form of a single colour is all that is sought for, and the puzzle is,
how to obtain variety. Here is a book of patterns, no one of
which has ever been used ; leaf after leaf may be turned over,
" and still find something new " — something that may be copied
as it presents itself, something that will be suggestive.

Our references have been made to but a few of the arts which
may be — which must be — largely influenced by this power to

'74

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

resort to another means of teaching ; but it is obvious that there
is no branch of manufacture which may not, to some extent,
be benefited by it. Let the student give the subject a moment's

Fig. 44.

thought, and he will be convinced of this ; let him look down
to his carpet, or up at his ceiling ; let him turn to the cover of the

CRYSTALS OF SNOW. 175

book he is perusing, notice any part of a lady's dress, or of his
own, where ornamentation is admissible ; let him, in short,
consider any object, anywhere, under any circumstances, and
then examine the few examples we set before him in these pages,
and he will at once perceive how much of harmony, of truth, of
beauty, may be obtained by an intellectual study of these forms,
which are neither more nor less than Nature's teachings from a
book hitherto unopened.

IV.

THE SYMMETRICAL AND ORNAMENTAL EORMS OF

ORGANIC REMAINS.

By ROBERT HUNT, F.R.S.

A A

THE SYMMETRICAL AND ORNAMENTAL FORMS
OF ORGANIC REMAINS.

I.

HE most useful as well as the most ornamental devices
which have sprung from the exercise of human ingenuity
I have all been founded upon the varied and beautiful
creations which Nature has presented to us. It is not within the
limits of human power to create, but from the impressions made
upon the mind an unlimited variety of combinations may be
formed. By the mental kaleidoscope an infinite change of form is
produced by the re-arrangement of a few simple elements of
beauty. The ideal head of the Grecian sculptures is but a refined
reproduction of the lines of grace and beauty which the observant
artists had seen in, and selected from, the intellectual features of
the educated Athenians. Architecture, too, has liberally borrowed
from the perfections of the human form. In the symmetry of the
Ionic columns, and in the graceful strength and grouped elegance
of the Caryatides, we trace the best proportions of the perfect
woman ; and in the flowing beauty of their ornamentations we
may discover a reproduction of some of those caprices which are
the spontaneous growth of the female mind. Architecture has no

less liberally borrowed its styles and ornaments from other
natural sources : from the arched cavern and the bowery forest
tradition draws the form of the Egyptian temple and the Gothic
fane. The chalice-like flower of the lotus of the Nile ornaments
the columns of Luxor ; the acanthus foliage decorates those of
Corinth ; and in numerous other instances the artist has sought
to weave the simplicity of vegetable forms into the texture of his
work, for the purpose of insuring a general character of lightness
and elegance.

Whether the ancient potter selected the shapes of his fictile
manufactures from the foliage of the forests of his land has been
frequently discussed. It is sufficient, at present, to know that
the elegant curves of the Athenian and Etrurian vases, which
have through all periods been regarded as beautiful, owe this
high appreciation to the simple fact that they are true to the lines
which Nature has herself adopted. The true is always beautiful,
and in whatever form it may address itself to the mind, it exerts
over it an uncontrollable power for good. The impulses of Nature
are ever in the direction of perfection, and we find, even in the
exercise of the mysterious physical forces which bind the atoms of
matter into a mass, that a constant tendency is exhibited towards
an arrangement which shall observe the utmost symmetry. In
the inorganic world we have crystalline forms exhibiting an
obedience to the most perfect geometrical laws ; and in organic
creation — from the lowly lichen to the stateliest tree, from the
infusorial inhabitants of a drop of water up to man — we have
molecule combining with molecule in a myriad ways, but in all

of them producing results which charm by their adaptation to
circumstances, and in the perfection of every organ.

The efforts of man to convey to the canvas the resemblance of
humanity — to impress, by the agency of a few colours upon his
tablet, a reflection of the mental operation as it is seen " breathing
through the face " in love and sympathy, or disturbing the
features with agony or sorrow — is but an exalted effort of that
desire which moves the entire race to copy the phenomena of
Nature as they present themselves to our senses. It is the
prevailing character, and, indeed, the distinguishing feature, of
the human race, that it delights in imitation : the child in its play,
and the man of talent in his studio, are equally exemplifications
of this fact. Man has ever gone to Nature for his inspirations.
If we examine the rude productions of the savage who is awaking
from his merely animal existence, and over whom mind is
beginning to assert its power, we discover that his first impulses
are to gleam from the organized forms around him such objects as
he conceives will add something to the adornment of his body.
When he commences to produce any of those aids to existence
which are the earliest efforts of technical art, we still see he
rudely attempts to copy some familiar natural form. Whether we
select from Greece " those faultless productions whose very
fragments are the despair of modern art," the almost breathing
marbles of Phydias — whether we take the sun-baked pottery of
ancient Egypt or of Central America, the " art-manufactures " of
a primitive people, or those manifestations of an educated taste
which Greece, Rome, and modern Europe afford, we shall find

that in all alike the effort to imitate the works of Nature is the
prevailing tendency. And, beyond this, we shall learn, too, that
where the simple beauties of Nature have been approached —
seldom have they been realised — the art-production has become
the glory of the age and the boast of the country to which it
belongs. We sometimes find that human intellect, proud of its
comparatively high achievements, quits that almost stern sim-
plicity which distinguishes Nature, and aspires to produce effects
by violent contrasts and glaring characteristics ; but the result is
invariably the fate of Daedalus, whose flight on waxen wings was
punished by a fearful fall. The departure from Nature in the
works of art marks, like a widespreading mildew, the decay of
nations ; and this is readily accounted for. As good taste inva-
riably indicates a feeling of the presence of that intellectual
beauty,

" The awful shadow of some unseen power,"

which consecrates all that it shines upon, and gains an ascendancy
over the gross sensualities of life, so a departure from it exhibits
the operations of those feelings which have their origin in the
depravity of the race.

Our artists and our artisans have sought busily over the
surface of the earth for subjects on which to labour. Herb, shrub,
and tree, leaf and flower, have been copied to ornament the works
of their hands. The sea has yielded its organic forms, and the
workman has sought, amidst the finny tribes and the shelly
wonders of the great deep, for subjects to aid his decorative
designs. The insect, the bird, and the beast have equally

FORMS OF ORGANIC REMAINS. 183

ministered to the exercise of fancy ; and the inventive powers of
the imaginative have not unfrequently attempted to blend the
three kingdoms of Nature in one device, in the eager search for
that novelty which generally gains a host of admirers. Leigh
Hunt with truth exclaims, "We know not a millionth part of the
wonders of this beautiful world ; " and it is but slowly that science
is discovering to us new subjects of admiration ; but though
slowly, science is steadily doing so. The truths of science are
constantly serving the progress of art, and the more we free
the labours of the philosopher and the experimentalist from the
technicalities which are too frequently only retained to give
a false appearance of learning, the more certain will be the
advantages to be derived by the student of beauty from the
labours of stern induction. The union of Vulcan and Venus tends
to the diffusion of peace and happiness.

Although Natural History is found giving its aid to almost
every division of ornamental art, there is one branch of it,
Geology, which has rendered but little service to the artist. Yet
here is a vast field, spread over an earth-wide space and compre-
hending almost infinite time, teeming with forms the result of the
most varied organizations, which has scarcely yet been touched.
This arises from the circumstance that the study of organic
remains is itself a science of very recent date. Palaeontology
is but of yesterday ; yet it has achieved important results. The
study of the forms of animal life which existed in the earth
previous to the creation of the present races which inhabit it is
replete with the highest interest. As Astronomy penetrates the

1 84 ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

mysteries of space, so Geology pierces the arcana of time. The
rock formations tell of the earth's mutations, and the remains
which they hold, as histories of former ages, show that the beings
which possessed the earth as a dwelling were as perfectly
adapted to their conditions of existence as any living examples
of creative intelligence can be. Nor were they wanting in beauty.
A study of the cabinets of the curious — or of the metropolitan and
many local museums — would at once carry conviction to the mind,
that amidst the host of fossil remains with which we are now
acquainted is to be found a new variety of forms admirably
adapted, by their symmetry and general character, for the purposes
of ornament.

It will be found that stored in the rocks are creations which
lived and breathed ere yet the great mutations had occurred which
give to the earth its present physical features. From the coral-like
structures of the Laurentian rocks — probably the earliest evidences
existing of any organized structure — we may pursue our studies
over the infinite variety of form which the Cambrian and the
Silurian rocks preserve, until we arrive at that period when the
Old Red Sandstone sea, teeming with life, washed the rock of that
archipelago which has grown into the British Isles. Advancing
to the study of yet more recent rocks, we may select the inhabit-
ants of inland seas and the immense savannahs of an early world,
which for delicacy of structure and elegance of design are not to
be surpassed by any of the productions of organic life now
existing. Here, then, is a yet unploughed field from which the
art-manufacturer may cull fresh forms. We can only direct

attention to the source, and give a few illustrations in proof of our
assertions : having done this, \vc must leave the industrious artist
to search for himself in geological cabinets and palaeontological
plates for those forms which may suit his purposes and please his
taste. With the exception of two highly imaginative pictures by
John Martin, of "The Country of the Iguanodon," illustrating Dr.
Mantell's "Wonders of Geology," and "The Book of the Great Sea-
Dragons," by Mr. Thomas Hawkins, in which a realisation of the
condition of the earth during the period when it was the abode of
those monstrous reptiles whose fossilised bones tell the tale of
their ferocity and power, is attempted and ably conceived, art has
not ventured into this abyss of time.

Whether the hydras of superstition or the griffins and dragons
which are preserved in heraldic bearings are dim outshadowings
of those ancient days, preserved like a myth amongst men, it were
vain to speculate, although the speculation is fraught with
interest. It is, however, curious that we find those strange
remains of the old world linked to superstitions which have their
origin since the introduction of Christianity.

It is therefore evident that those remarkable fossil forms must
have excited the wonder of man ere yet science bent to the task
of studying them. The graceful form of the Nautilus, which now
enjoys existence in our tropical seas, is familiar to all. A large
variety of molluscous animals of the same genera have existed
through all time ; and their remains found in the fossil state prove
them to have been among the earliest inhabitants of the ancient
ocean. In nearly all the rocks of a limestone character the

B B

remains of Ammonites — the ancient Nautilus — have been found.
In the Oolite, the Lias, and the Chalk, varieties of these elegant
shells are constantly discovered, and nearly three hundred
species have been named. From these we select a few, which
will, we think, show that they are well adapted for ornamental
purposes.

The first we give is the Ammonites Eudesianus (Fig. i), which is
found in the inferior Oolite, a variety of the sandstone rocks ; the
specimen from which our illustration is taken being from the sand-

Fig, i.

stone rocks of Caen, so well known in this country from the great
quantity employed in our architectural ornaments. This example
is remarkable for the perfection of the spiral lines and the
beautiful disposition of the ribs or elevated portions, which serve
to strengthen the delicate chambered shell.

The Ammonites cordatus of Sowerby (Fig. 2) is distinguished
by a spiral of a different order from that of Eudesianus. Its ribs
forming graceful waving lines, and terminating in a denticulated

FORMS OF ORGANIC REMAINS.

187

edge, give a very symmetrical character to the architecture of this
variety.

The Ammonites crtstagalli Fig. 3), in which we have an arrange-

Fisr. 2.

ment of the convolutions not very unlike the last-named species,
differs from it in the disposition of those folds which form the sup-

Fig. 3.

ports of the arch of the shell, by which a very charming though
simple character is obtained.

iS8

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

The Ammonites muticus (Fig. 4), found in great abundance in
the marls of the Lias, is remarkable for the very curious arrange-
ment of tubercles or spines, which are formed by the elongation of
the folds of the shell. Notwithstanding the general defect which
arises from the repetition of angular lines, we have in this shell an
example of the harmony which may be produced by them when

Fig. 4.

arranged upon a uniform system. The radiating effect of these
tubercles ranged around the involutions of the shell is very
pleasing.

The Ammonites Grenouilloxi (Fig. 5) offers another variety,
which shows the folds gradually being elevated, as these approach
the mouth of the shell, into bosses, by which, of course, increased
strength is secured where the shell becomes more open, and con-
sequently weaker ; at the same time they give a pleasing variety
to the form of the shell itself.

FORMS OF ORGANIC REMAINS.

189

The Ammonites contrarius (Fig. 6) presents many distinguishing
characteristics, which are important to the naturalist as distinctive
markings, and furnish the artist with a variety of simple elegance
which deserves his study. The peculiar arrangement of the ribs,
curving off right and left from a line running along the centre of
the shell, gives rise to the formation of a series of festoon-like ribs,
which add much to the general beauty of this species.

Fig. 5-

" The general principle," remarks Dr. Buckland, " ol dividing
and subdividing the ribs, in order to multiply supports as the
vault enlarges, is conducted nearly on the same plan, and for the
same purpose, as the divisions and subdivisions of the ribs beneath
the groin work in the flat vaulted roofs of the florid Gothic archi-
tecture." In all these arrangements, and also in the bosses or
tubercles, we have varieties giving both additional strength and
beauty. A striking uniformity is found to prevail in even those
shells of the Ammonites which seem the most complicated ; and

190

ART- STUDIES FROM NATURE.

the elegance of their general appearance will be found to be due
to the repetition, at regular intervals, of one symmetrical system
of forms. In many of these fossil shells the pearly plates are
dovetailed together in a curious and beautiful manner, the regular
disposition of the sutures producing a very elegant foliated
appearance. The charm of all these forms, and also of those

Fig. 6.

fossil shells which are allied to the Ammonites, consists in the
pleasing impression which is given by the gracefully curved
outline, and the waving lines by which the shells are banded.

Among the Pectens — a class of shells common to the Sussex
chalk — will also be found a great number of forms which,
although not unlike many modern species, differ from them in
some striking features, and which, independently of their novelty,
are so very elegant that they seem peculiarly fitted for ornamental
purposes. It has been with much difficulty that we have chosen

FORMS OF ORGANIC REMAINS.

191

two or three illustrations from this class, and we still feel doubtful
if our selections exhibit the most favourable samples of theii
symmetry.

The Pcctcn quiiiquccostatus of Forbes, the Janira Atava of

Fig. 7

D Orbigny (Fig. 7), is a beautiful semicircular shell, with a regularly
denticulated edge, its surface being covered with fine transverse

Fig. 8.

striae. The woodcuts of the Pecten or Janira striatacostata and the
Pecten Dujardinii (Figs. 8 and 9), serve to exhibit other varieties

192

ART- STUDIES FROM NATURE.

of these fossils, and at the same time to show the elegant curva-
tures of these shells, when viewed in different positions.

Fig. 9.
The Trigonia carinata (Figs. 10 and 1 1), one of a class of fossils

Fig. 10

Fig. 11.

which has particularly engaged the attention of Agassiz, is also

FORMS OF ORGANIC REMAINS.

193

found in the Cretacean series. It is figured in two different posi-
tions, that the elegant outline and the ornamental radiating striae,
regular tubercles, and denticulated margin may be fully seen.

In the Cardita we have the same heart-shaped form, but the
ornamental surface is in many respects different. The regular
curved lines proceeding from the hinge of the shell, which is itself
most delicately formed, present' in the Cardium mutonianum

Fig. 12.

(Fig. 12), the tuberculata of Sowerby, a most pleasing arrangement
of striations. The regularity of these, as shown in the woodcut,
particularly recommends this specimen and others of its class as
admirably adapted for ornamental purposes, where very delicate
and elaborate workmanship can be admitted.

The Op is Sabandiana (Fig. 13) is another of these elegant shells
more remarkable for the regular form of its outline than for any

C C

i94

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

elaboration of the striae which traverse it, in this respect standing
in pleasing contrast with the preceding figure.

Fig. 13-
Among the Trigonia will be found a vast variety of the most
symmetrical forms, most of which are elegantly ornamented.

Fig. 14.

The two representations which we have given of the Trigonia
scabra (Figs. 14 and 15) will convey a general idea of the more

FORMS OF ORGANIC REMAINS. ,95

striking characteristics of this class of fossils, which are found
distributed abundantly over the Portland rocks. The manner in
which the folds of the shells overlap each other is singular, and
gives to them often a very striking resemblance to the foldings of
leaves in the leaf-bud of plants. The curved lines, formed by
the small bosses regularly elevated from the stria?, running trans-
versely to these lines in many species, give an exceedingly pleas-

Fig. 15.
ing outline, which certainly adapts these Trigonia, from the variety

of forms thus produced, to the purposes of the art-manufacturer
in a peculiar manner.

By the wonderful transmutation of organic structures, by those
natural processes

" Which turned the ocean-bed to rock,
And changed its myriad living swarms
To the marble's veined forms,"

196 ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

we have preserved specimens of the early creations, rivalling in
beauty any of those which now exist.

If we can but show that a series of novelties for art may be
found by searching over the charnel-houses of the ancient world,
possessing the charm of symmetry and that beauty of arrange-
ment and decoration which adapts them, as we believe, to
numerous ornamental purposes, we shall be satisfied. We do but
suggest an examination. We have confined ourselves to a few of
the numerous remains of animal life. " The sermons in stones "
are varied beyond the conception of those who have not attempted
to read them. Between the earliest attempts of Nature to form a
cell in which life should exert its mysteries, up to the most
elaborated and gigantic form which ever swam in the ancient
waters or roamed in the wide savannahs, there is one unceasing,
never-failing effort to multiply the beautiful, and to make it
conformable to the useful. In conclusion, we may again remark
that whether we seek to copy from Nature her older or her more
recent works, we shall find in them all that peculiar charm which

" Can so inform
The mind that is within us — so impress
With quietness and beauty — and so feed
With lofty thoughts,"

that the results of that study will be the production of beautiful
works, all tending, by their spells, to elevate humanity.

FORMS OF ORGANIC REMAINS. 197

II.

In the previous chapter we confined ourselves to a selection of a
few fossil shells, with the hope of drawing the attention of the art-
manufacturer to a source whence he may gather, from thousands
of examples, forms of the utmost symmetry, which appear to fit
themselves in a peculiar manner for his especial purposes. The
beauty of vegetable forms has, through all time, won the attention
of the artist. The lotus and the acanthus are rendered classical by
their numerous adaptations to ornamental uses. The ivy and the
laurel, the nepenthe and the convolvulus, with numerous other
plants and flowers, are to be found moulded and painted on works
of ornament and utensils for domestic use through all ages.

Numerous and ever graceful as are the forms of the living
vegetable world — and these have been extensively copied — there
is a vast field within which diligent search will discover a great
variety of plants, which are no less beautiful and far less common
than their living analogues, in the bygone flora preserved so
strangely in those strata which mark the mutations of our
mysterious world.

The flora of the Carboniferous period was of a most extra-
ordinary character, and luxuriant to an extent far exceeding even
that which is now exhibited in the forests of equatorial climes.
Growing most rapidly and of a lax tissue, these plants were of
short duration, and were after death rapidly converted into a mass
of uniform structure, such as we have now exhibited in every bed

198

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

of fossil fuel. Three hundred species of plants belong to the Coal

formations of Great Britain alone

and it is found that local
causes, with which we are
not acquainted, have modi-
fied in a strange manner
the plastic vegetation of this
period; and in what ap-
pear to be analogous posi-
tions we find whole genera
and even orders of plants of
very opposite botanical cha-
racter, presenting a greater
disparity of vegetation than
countries the most remote
in geographical position.*
Thus within a small area
we have a variety of strange
forms, few of which do not
adapt themselves for orna-
mental purposes.

Fig. 1 6 is the Pecopteris
lonchitica or Mantellt, a fern
abundantly found in the

* See Dr. Hooker " On the Vege-
tation of the Carboniferous Period,"
Memoirs of the Geological Survey of
Great Britain, Gfc, vol. ii.

FORMS OF ORGANIC REMAINS.

199

coal-beds of Newcastle-on-Tyne, which is indeed allied to some
of the existing' ferns of New Zealand, but differing from them in
many of its markings. The graceful arrangement of the frond
particularly distinguishes this species.

Our next figure, the Pecopterts orcopteridius (Fig. 17), is copied
from a specimen found in the coal shale of France, as is also

Fig. 17.

Fig. 1

Fig. 18, the Asplenites nodosus, although this singularly and prettily
marked plant is frequently found in other coal districts. In the
ferns of the present period we have none which exactly resemble
these varieties, and they appear capable of being arranged by the
artist into ornaments of an exquisitely graceful character.

Of these kinds numerous varieties exist in the fossil state, in
which the alternating arrangements of the fronds, and the systems

200

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

of venation, present many pleasing differences. These petrified
plants, which grew in the enormous deltas of our island and the
Continent which now form the known coal-fields, are often
preserved with a delicacy which we could scarcely have expected
from the conditions of putrefaction and rapid disintegration which
must have gone on around them. And not unfrequently we have

Fig. 19.

singularly beautiful remains of the dissected leaves of these plants
(Fig. 19), this being effected doubtless by the action of water on the
softer portions of the leaf.

The Sphenopteris tridactylites, which exhibits in the arrange-
ment of its fronds one of the most symmetrical forms to be found
among this elegant class of plants, can scarcely be sufficiently
exhibited in the space we are enabled to afford. It is abundant in

FORMS OF ORGANIC REMAINS.

201

the shales of the mines of Montrelais. In the same district is also
found the Ncu ropier is Heterophylla (Fig. 20), which is remarkable
for the arrangement of its fleshy leaves and the regularity of its

Fig. 20.

venations. It must be remembered that our drawing only repre-
sents one of the fronds. The grouping of the whole on the straight
and slender stem is very beautiful.

The Pecopteris Whitbiensis (Fig. 21), which presents many

D D

202

ART- STUDIES FROM NATURE.

differences from the other forms, is copied from a specimen found
in a nodule of argillaceous ironstone from the lower shale at
Cloughton, and certainly it presents many points of interest.

Among the most remarkable and characteristic plants of the
coal formation is the Stgillarza, of which extraordinary trailing
plant upwards of sixty species have been described.

Fig. 21.

These plants are generally but a few feet in height, though
sometimes two yards broad.

Although of universal occurrence, it is singular that it is
unaccompanied by any evidence of branches, leaves, flowers, or
fruit. The peculiarly lax condition of this enormous tree fern has
prevented the preservation of many of the beautiful markings by
which the trunk must have been distinguished.

FORMS OF ORGANIC REMAINS.

203

In our selection from such as have been discovered we have
given two striking varieties, the first the Sigillaria elegans (Fig. 22),
as it is figured by Brongniart, and the Sigillaria Defrancii
(Fig. 23) from St. Ambroise, both of them distinguished by the
beauty of their markings. It will be evident upon examination
that these strange vegetable wonders of an early world bear a
relation to the recent Coniferae ; but this subject, which is one of
anxious dispute among fossil botanists, need not detain us. Amid

big. 22.

the many varieties of Sigillariae and Lepidodendrons which are
associated with them numerous exquisitely delicate markings
occur. The sections of these plants too present, in their medullary
rays and slender vascular tissue, systems of arrangement which
are curious and ornamental.

Having suggested — and we aim at nothing more — that the
fossil flora might furnish many tasteful ornaments to the art-
manufacturer, we pass hastily to an equally brief and merely

: -

ART-STCDIES FROM XATl'RE.

- -

:a - : : .'.-.- : a 1 a a a as :
:v. : aera : :ralf presa a:: as 2
are excelled in all respects

re :::: alas :: r'aese 1. ■ ": : urs : ::

riety : fossil forms allied to

.:----■ _ : _ : a the Pacific. Xh :

; : r t :a . : ; :-f structure, but they

bv those of the old world. T"ae
isect life are exceedingly numerous ;

Fte 24

-

are built, for the most part, with them ; and the
ears :: as r reea =.= V- ay ia are ::e^a a: a
::" are SHari^a '::;:. ; a: aae presea:

r ::' T:rres *?:: - :1a e Iaa:=aa Se

rearesea: :ae ea:eraal 2aaearaaa:e aaa ::.':
ea: :: :'ae 1 •-; r : : ; :r Fz~ ::

Z rare Martin, Ilfracombe, and Plymouth. The
e a_aees :r .ells a: era :' :ae .va.le a e aaavr

FORMS OF ORGANIC REMAINS.

205

of some of the vegetable productions of the tropics, is very
graceful.

The Plm rod icfxmn problematical m (Fig. 26), from the ironstone

Fig. 24.

Fig. 25.

bands on the banks of the Rhine, is singularly elegant. The dispo-
sition of the denticulated channels presenting the appearance of a
delicate bead-like tracery, marking out a series of leaf-shaped divi-

Fig. 26.

sions, gives great beauty to this variety. In the figure copied the
Serpyllum curved in the centre adds too, rather than detracts from,
the beauty of the fossil. Indeed, the manner in which Serpylla

200

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

dispose themselves over many of the corals is singularly graceful
and capable of many applications.

The following figures of the Asfrcca geminata (Fig. 27) and the
Astra: a rotula (Fig. 28), showing their external character and the
radiations as exhibited in section, are only intended to display
the novel and elegant character which prevails through an almost
infinite variety of these coralline forms.

These beautiful creations are produced by animals of the polyp

rig. 27.

Fig. 28.

kind, which, possessed of a power of separating the carbonate of
lime from sea-water, are constantly engaged in building up around
themselves those stone structures which, if not geometrical in all
their arrangements, are strikingly varied and beautiful. The
coral animal has left traces of its work on the earliest fossil
rocks, but in the more recent or Oolitic series the corals are most
abundant.

It is almost impossible to select a specimen from any cabinet

FORJ/S OF ORGANIC REMAINS. 207

of the corals of the Oolitic period without being- struck with the
regularity of arrangement and the variety of beautiful forms
produced. It is true that our existing corals bear a strong resem-
blance to those of the seas of the ancient world, but they differ in
specific, and often in generic character, and the fossil remains
present forms and dispositions of parts widely varied from those
of the recent coral. It is curious and interesting to observe,
however, in both species, the same contrivances adapted to
provide that resistance to the waves so necessary for the
protection of the coral animal, and which especially marks its
work.

The extent to which these coralline formations have gone on
will be indicated by the fact that the coralline crag at Oxford is
exposed at the surface, and the bottom of it has not been reached
at the depth of fifty feet. One of the limestone beds of the middle
Oolite series of England is a continuous bed of petrified corals,
retaining the position in which they grew at the bottom of the sea ;
and beside these we find scattered through our Oolitic formations
an immense quantity of coral remains. Indeed, if we examine the
stones of which some of our most admired churches are built, as at
Oxford and Cambridge, we shall find that the firmly integrated
mass is little else than shells and corals. Thus the labours
of hosts of insect architects, working in the ocean which over-
flowed this island myriads of ages since, are now employed to
form those temples which religion consecrates to the Creator of all
things.

The elegance of these fossil remains is still further illustrated

208

ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

by the three cuts of the Pentacrinites subangularisy the sections of
the Pentacrinites dubiusy and of the Encrinites moniliformis (Fig. 29).
An examination of the numerous Cystidece — the class of fossils
which are allied to the sea-urchins of our own seas — will convince
any one of the constant tendency towards the beautiful in all
natural objects. The arrangements of the plates of the Cystideans,
ornamented as they are with grooves, striae, and pores, presenting

Fig. 29.

a very highly ornamented system of sculpture, cannot be excelled
by any imaginary design. The Echino-encriniteSy with their
curious plate ornaments and radiating bands, are all in the
highest degree symmetrical, as are also the star-fishes found in a
fossil state, and the numerous animal and vegetable remains of a
former world, to which we cannot do more than thus cursorily
allude. Many hundreds of similar creations possessing the utmost

FORMS OF ORGANIC REMAINS. 209

variety in their arrangements, and rivalling in geometric regularity
and beauty the images of the kaleidoscope, are to be found locked
within the stony structure of our fossiliferous rocks.

The Cidaris Blumeribachit (Fig. 30), found in the Jura, is the

only specimen of either of those classes of fossil forms which our
space will allow of our giving.

The elegant form of the Lily Encrinites, as they have been
called, is well illustrated by the drawing of the Encrinites moni-
liformis (Fig. 31), the -sections of the stems of which have been
already shown (Fig. 29), and the Bourgueticrionis crinoidalis
(Fig. $2), which at once unites the perfection of Tightness and
elegance in the disposition of its jointed stem and its crowning
inflorescence. These curious links between the animal and the
vegetable kingdoms, presenting in their singularly delicate struc-
tures the most desirable forms for ornamental disposition, are to
be found in great abundance and diversity.

Distributed through every phase of being, the creations of
Nature present a chain, each link of which is symmetrical in form

E E

2 10

ART- STUDIES FROM NATURE.

and beautiful in its arrangement. If we
commence our examination with these
forms of the lowest organization, which
appear to mark the dawn of vitality on
this planet, and trace series after series
through the distinguishing strata — each
one marking a new epoch in the order of
animal existence, and exhibiting new and
constantly varied forms — we shall find that
order and elegance mark the whole. Many
of those strange creations, the Trilobites
— and indeed those monsters of that ocean
which appears to have prevailed over the
dry land, the Saurians — do not appear,
upon the first inspection, to bear out this
assertion ; but an examination of their
wonderful armour will at once show that
Nature, in her works, never neglects to
add to their adornment after she has pro-
vided for the necessities of each condition.

The influence of the study of Nature in
refining and purifying the human mind
has been often insisted on, and its truth
is evident. No effort of human thought,
which is of a merely terrestrial character,
can ever rise to the truly beautiful. Whe-
ther the artist desires to paint upon his

*'ig- 31-

Fig. 32.

FORMS OF ORGANIC REMAINS. 211

canvas, to chisel out of marble, to mould in clay, or to cast in
metal, forms which shall possess the charm, the secret of
inspiring a feeling of the beautiful, he must go to Nature for his
inspiration. Looking into the mirror of her works, like the
influence of gazing into loving eyes, he draws from it a pure, a
holy inspiration, which he may, if his practised hand be obedient
to his creative mind, transfer to the gross element which is to
express to mankind the power of the true.

Persuaded that but few of those who are engaged on works of
art or of art-manufacture have had their attention directed to any
of the results of palaeontological studies, and feeling confident that
an immense store of novelties was to be found amongst the fossil
remnants of those days when man was not, the remarks now
submitted for their consideration, with every feeling of their
imperfections and necessarily sketchy character, will not, it is
thought, be without interest.

While dealing with the applications of science to the economic
purposes of life, it was thought that a step beyond this mere
utilitarian purpose might be allowed, and that the studies of the
natural philosopher might be made to minister to the

" Spirit of Beauty, that does consecrate
With its own hues all that it shines upon
Of human thought or form."'

These essays were produced twenty-four years since. They
were written to serve a special purpose — the subject of art
manufacture; being, in 1848, one which was engaging general

212 ART-STUDIES FROM NATURE.

attention. With a few verbal corrections the essays remain in the
condition in which they were first published. They indicate,
however — and they aim at nothing more — with sufficient clear-
ness, a source from which the ingenious artist might multiply his
forms for ornamentation. It must not be forgotten that during
the past twenty-four years the science of geology has achieved
wonders, and the cabinets of the palaeontologist have been
crowded with the most beautiful forms of organic creation. If
then there existed a store of choice and rare forms, these are
multiplied by thousands now.

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AMONG OLD BOOKS AND IN OLD PLACES; being Papers on Art,
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F. W. Fairholt, F.S. A., small 4to, with 259 Wood Engravings, elegantly
bound, 12s.

LIFE OF OUR BLESSED LORD AND SAVIOUR
JESUS CHRIST.

By the Rev. John Fleetwood, D.D. New Edition, complete in one vol., post
8vo, with Eight full-page Illustrations, 3s. 6d.

FOXE'S BOOK OF MARTYRS.

Being a History of Christian Martyrdom from the Earliest Times. Carefully revised
by the Rev. J. M. Crombie, M.A. Post 8vo, price 3s. 6d.

BURNET'S HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION.

Abridged by the Author for the Use of Students. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.

BYRON'S SONGS,

NOW FIRST COLLECTED IN A SEPARATE VOLUME. Illustrated
with a Steel Engraving of Chalon's "MAID OF ATHENS." Elegantly
printed, with Woodcut Head-pieces and Vignettes by Kenny Meadows and others.
In square super-royal i6mo, elegantly bound, 3s. 6d.

SHAKSPERE'S SONGS,

Selected from his Poems and Plays. THE FIRST COMPLETE COLLECTION
in a Single Volume. Illustrated with a Steel Engraving of the CHANDOS
PORTRAIT. Elegantly printed, with Woodcut Headpieces and Vignettes .by
Kenny Meadows and others. In square super-royal i6mo, elegantly bound, 3s. 6d.

CURIOSITIES OF THE PULPIT AND PULPIT
LITERATURE.

Memorabilia, Anecdotes, &c, of Celebrated Preachers, from the Fourth Century
of the Christian Era to the Present Time. By Thomas Jackson, M.A.,
Prebendary of St. Paul's Cathedral, and Rector of Stoke Newington, London.
3s. 6d.

A LIFE'S MOTTO.

By the Rev. T. Pelham Dale, M.A. Illustrated by Biographical Examples.
With a Frontispiece by J. D. Watson. 3s. 6d.

St. Augustine — St. Bernard — John Wesley — John Newton — Charles Simeon —
Henry Kirke White — Henry Marty n, and Frederick Mackenzie.

WATCHERS FOR THE DAWN,

AND OTHER STUDIES OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. By Mrs.
W. R. Lloyd. With Eight Illustrations by James Godwin, printed on Toned
Paper, 3s. 6d.

THE PATH ON EARTH TO THE GATE OF
HEAVEN.

Essays of Counsel and Encouragement for the Christian Life of the Present
Day. By the Rev. Frederick Arnold, of Christ Church, Oxford. With a
Frontispiece. Small crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.

THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS.

By John Bunyan. With Twelve Illustrations by C. A. Doyle, printed on
Toned Paper. Small crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.

THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD.

By Oliver Goldsmith. With Twelve Full-page Illustrations, piinted on
Toned Paper. Small crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.

sandford and merton.

By Thomas Day. Small crown 8vo, with Illustrations, 3s. 6d.

HOLIDAY ADVENTURES ;

OR, THE STRETTONS' SUMMER IN NORMANDY. By Mrs. James
Gambier. With Eight Illustrations by Charles Altamont Doyle, printed on
Toned Paper. Small crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.

These Adventures are founded upon Fact.

THE STAR OF HOPE AND THE STAFF OF DUTY.

TALES OF WOMANLY TRIALS AND VICTORIES. With Eight Illus-
trations by Julian Portch, printed on Toned Paper. Small crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.

AUNT AGNES ;

OR, THE WHY AND THE WHEREFORE OF LIFE. An Autobio-
graphy. By a Clergyman's Daughter. With Eight Illustrations by Keeley
Halswelle. Printed on Toned Paper. Small crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.

A story replete with incident and character.

PICTURES OF HEROES, AND LESSONS FROM
THEIR LIVES.

By Mrs. W. R. Lloyd, Author of " Watchers for the Dawn," &c. With Eight
Illustrations by C. A. Doyle, printed on Toned Paper. Small crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.

THE SEA AND HER FAMOUS SAILORS.

By Frank B. Goodrich. With Eight Illustrations, printed on Toned Paper.
Small crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.

THE BUSY HIVES AROUND US.

A Variety of Trips and Visits to the Mine, the Workshop, and the Factory.
With Popular Notes on Materials, Processes, and Machines. With Seven
Illustrations, by William Harvey and others, printed on Toned Paper. Small
crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.

ADVENTURES IN THE ICE.

A Comprehensive Summary of Arctic Exploration, Discovery, and Adventure,
including Experiences of Captain Penny, the Veteran Whaler, now first
published. By John Tii.t.otson. Crown 8vo, with Portraits of Sir John Franklin
—Captain Penny — Dr. Elisha Kent Kane — Dr. Isaac I. Hayes — and Fourteen
other Illustrations, 3s. 6d.

PIONEERS OF CIVILISATION.

By the Author of" Lives of Eminent Men," &c. "With Portraits of Dr. Living-
stone— Captain Clapperton — William Penn — Captain Cook — Lord Robert Clive —
Captain Flinders — Rev. Henry Martyn — and Ten other Page Illustrations. Small
crown 8vo, 33. 6d.

MEN WHO HAVE RISEN.

A BOO.v FOR BOYS. With Eight Illustrations by Charles A. Doyle.
Printed on Toned Paper. Small crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.

A boy can hardly fail to be the better for perusing the graphic stones of the rise
of the Peel family, and the struggles of such men as Hugh Miller, Wilson the
ornithologist, Smeaton the engineer, and Stephenson the railway pioneer.

SMALL BEGINNINGS ;

OR, THE WAY TO GET ON. With Eight Illustrations, printed on Toned
Paper. Small crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.

THE STEADY AIM.

A BOOK OF EXAMPLES AND ENCOURAGEMENTS. From Modern
Biography. By W. H. Davenport Adams, Author of "Famous Regiments of
the British Army," &c. With Eight Illustrations by C. A. Doyle, printed on
Toned Paper, 3s. 6d.

FAMOUS LONDON MERCHANTS.

With Life-Portraits of George Peabody — Sir Richard Whittington— Sir Thomas
Gresham — Sir Hugh Myddelton — Sir Josiah Child — Paterson, Founder of the
Bank of England — Coutts, the Banker — and Seventeen other Illustrations. By
H. R. Fox Bourne, Author of "Merchant Princes of England," &c. Small
crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.

WOMEN OF WORTH.

A BOOK FOR GIRLS. With Eight Illustrations by William Dickes. Printed
on Toned Paper. Small crown 8vo, elegantly bound, 3s. 6d.

The "Women of Worth" selected include Charlotte Bronte, Elizabeth Fry,
Lady Russell, Lady Hutchinson, the Lady Jane Grey, the Empress Maria Theresa,
and Caroline Herschel.

THE HABITS OF GOOD SOCIETY.

A HANDBOOK OF ETIQUETTE for Ladies and Gentlemen. With Thoughts,
Hints, and Anecdotes concerning Social Observances, Nice Points of Taste
and Good Manners, and the Art of making One's self agreeable. The whole
interspersed with humorous Illustrations of Social Predicaments, Remarks on the
History and Changes of Fashion, and the Differences of English and Continental
Etiquette. (Frontispiece.) Small crown 8vo, in elegant binding, 3s. 6d.

The unanimous opinion of the press has pronounced this accurate, racy, and
elegant volume the most complete and trustworthy of all books upon Social
Etiquette.

JUST PUBLISHED.

THE FINE ART ANNUAL,

IN MEDIUM 4to, PRICE 2s.

CONTAINING

®fjree &ttt\ plates antr move tijan 'JEJjtrtg (Mtooti lEngvabtngs.

Messrs. Virtue & Co. have the pleasure to announce that they have deter-
mined, in compliance with the suggestions and wishes of many friends, to
undertake the publication of a Fine Art Annual.

The object that the publishers have in view is to bring before the public
a Christmas Annual worthy in every way of a place upon the Drawing-room
Table, and also of a place in the hands of those who frequent the Drawing-room.

The Fine Art Annual will contain Three Steel Plates and more than
Thirty Wood Engravings, in illustration of a careful selection of Stories,
Sketches, Poems, and Essays, made with a view to contributing, in more
ways than one, to the pleasure of the Christmas Season.

A handsome CALENDAR, forming a record of facts relating to Litera-
ture and Art, will accompany the Annual.

tofente.

PREAMBLE. By the Editor. With Two Illustrations.

Stoxji—CISSIE'S COMING HOME. By the Author of " The Blacksmith of Holsby,"
" Spenser's Wife," &c, &c. With Four Illustrations.

\%ocm— MAMMY'S AIN BAIRN. By Matthias Barr. With an Illustration.

§A\t\t\\.— PICKED UP ON THE COAST: A LITTLE PICTURE IN WORDS.
By an Obscure Artist. With Two Illustrations.

<Sta).— UNCLE ARCHIE'S BANKRUPTCY: THE STORY OF A YEAR'S
PROBATION. By the Author of "His by Right," "John Hesketh's
Charge," &c, &c. With Two Illustrations.

ijttm-arxrtt* tyszm—MY SCHOOLFELLOWS. By J. D. P.

<&%&%£— SOME MOONLIGHT REFLECTIONS— OF TREES, STEEPLES, AND
MEN. A Rigmarole. By Sawer Krawt, Author of a Considerable
Quantity of Unpublished MSS. With Three Illustrations.

^Otm.—A NIGHT ADVENTURE. By J. D. P.

^taX£.—THE TRUE STORY OF CINDERELLA— WITHOUT THE GLASS
SLIPPER. By G. J. Proctor. With Two Illustrations.

$3tf.cnt.— A VISION OF TOYS. By Astley H. Baldwin. With an Illustration.

(Sketch—^ MERRIE CHRISTMAS: A VERY SMALL-BEER CHRONLCLE FOR
THE YOUNGSTERS. By an Elder Brother. With Two Illustrations.

, THE CALENDAR, comprised within Twelve pages, with beautifully designed
and engraved Borders, illustrating the Months.

VIRTUE & CO., 26, IVY LANE, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.

STERLING & FRANCINE CLARK ART INSTITUTE

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Hulme, F." EdNA/ard/Art^tudiesfrom

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